Promises
by K. C. Trexler
Summary: When a traveling Angel saves a young girl from Robo Knuckles, she gives her word that she'll protect her and her brother from him till she finds out the brother's true identity. But with her honor bound by her promise, she is forced to team up with her worst enemy to help save the trio from Robo Knuckle's wrath.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place approximately 4 months after the events of "A Timeless Adventure". Angel Starfire, Mira, Drake the Chao, Comet the Chao, and Cody and Lily Griffor are copyrighted to me. Rated PG for mild violence.

**Author's Note:** Due to the fact that the name "Dr. Robotnik" hasn't been used in canon stuff in years now, alongside of the fact that I can't think of a good way to change his name in the context of a story, I'm now calling him "Dr. Eggman" from here on out. I think it was best said by the past version of Eggman in Sonic Generations when he said "Nobody calls me by that name anymore."

**Promises**

**Chapter 1**

"That's right, I said full abort!" shouted Sonic into his wrist communicator, laser bolts screaming past him as he ran through the main production line area of the Swatbot factory in Robotropolis, rounding the corner leading towards the exit. But instead of finding a clear path leading to safety, he ran smack into a group of five robians all armed with laser blasters. "Sorry I have to do this to you guys, but I'm not about to die today," he said as he curled into a spindash.

The robians opened fire as the ball of spinning blue spikes careened towards them, but all their shots went wide as Sonic reached them, bowling three of them over as he broke through their defensive line. Uncurling from his spindash, he then took off at full speed, the sound barrier giving way as a sonic boom went off as he ran out of the factory, a few more laser bolts streaking after him as he rounded the street corner and out of the robians' line of fire.

"That's the fourth mission in a row that the target's been guarded with robians in the ranks," said Sally as she and Sonic sat in Sonic's hut back in Knothole. The two of them had returned from their latest attempt to take out one of Eggman's factories after having the plan ruined by the presence of robians defending the target alongside of the normal defenses.

"I hate to say it Sal, but I think Eggman's finally got us by the hair. He knows we won't blow up anything if the robians are in danger of being caught in the crossfire. And the fact that he's now having them guard the factories instead of just working in them is not boding well with me either. I could've hurt one of them when I spindashed into that group. I shouldn't have done that," said Sonic as he shook his head at what he had done.

"It's not your fault Sonic," said Sally as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Eggman's just finally played his trump card, and we don't have an answer to it."

"There has to be something we can do. Maybe instead of blowing stuff up, we just trash the computer running the factory," suggested Sonic, a little bit of hope in his eyes. But Sally just shook her head.

"That won't work. He's already hardwired the factories to the Command Center's main computer. In order for us to disable the factories, we'd have to fry the center's main frame, which I'm sorry to say we'd never have enough time to do before we'd get caught, especially considering that the main frame is only accessible from the control room," she answered. Sonic slammed his fist into his bed's mattress in frustration.

"So is that it? Are we at a stalemate now with no hope of coming out on top of all of this?" asked Sonic. Sally sighed softly.

"Unless we can remove the robians from their new guard duty, I don't see how we can even slow Eggman down anymore," she answered truthfully. "We can only hope that something turns up that will put us back on track."

* * *

Gus Someral, an older gentleman somewhere in his mid-fifties with graying brown hair, hummed a little tune to himself as he finished drying off the last of the mugs that needed to be cleaned and ready to go for the day. It was about lunch time in the quiet little town that he lived in of about 100 or so humans and he knew it wouldn't be long before his quaint little bar would be visited by the locals wanting something to wet their whistles or grab a bite to eat. He had put a lot of time and effort into remodeling his bar to replicate an old timey western bar, complete with swinging doors and an antique player piano that had seen better days but still managed to keep the music going to complete the experience.

His head looked up from placing the last mug onto the back counter as a bell rang, signaling that a customer had entered the bar. Now while he had seen hundreds of mobians pass through his bar as they traveled through the town and was used to seeing all kinds of different species of mobians, the one that had just stepped into the building was anything but normal. This one was a fairly young girl, probably in her mid-teens. Her smooth, aqua colored skin covered most of her petite body, though her stomach and chest areas were a much lighter shade of the same color. Her head sported a thin, skin tight helmet that was a darker shade of her skin color with a fin sticking out of the top of her head and two decent sized frills where her ears should have been. Her head also adorned a curious green gemstone set right in the middle of the forehead area of the helmet. But what really caught Gus' attention was the thick, prehensile, dolphin-like tail that she had.

"Welcome little lady," said Gus as he greeted the young girl. She gave him a smile as she walked up to the bar and sat on a barstool. "What will it be?"

"Just a glass of water please," she said, Gus turning around to grab one of the freshly cleaned mugs from their place on the back counter. As he finished filling up the glass and handing it to the young girl, he heard the bell ring again, followed by a voice he knew all too well and hated.

"Well look at what we got here boys. A brand new mobian girl is in town," said the low pitched voice of a tall, skinny human with black hair done in a buzz cut that went by the name of Doug. He wasn't alone either as a heavy set human with brown hair done in a bowl cut and a fairly short human with blonde hair done in a spiked style followed him into the bar.

"I've never seen a mobian like her before. Have you?" asked the second human.

"Nope. Definitely got ourselves an exotic one today," said the third human. The three of them started to walk over to where the girl was seated as she took a few sips from the glass of water before setting it back down on the counter.

"So what's a pretty little thing like you doing in old Gus' bar?" asked Doug as they crowded around the girl's seat.

"Just getting a glass of water, sir. I needed it badly. I haven't had a chance to get any water into my system for the past two days," she answered.

"That so?" he asked. "Well, how about after you finish that glass of water you come and have a little bit of fun with us, eh?" Gus frowned in annoyance as he overheard the conversation. The three humans that were now in the bar were scumbags who preyed on the female mobians while they were trying to enjoy their drinks and food. Still, he had told himself he'd never turn away a customer, and as such he was used to hearing the same old drivel time and time again as the three boys tried to hit on the ladies.

"Sorry, but I have to finish this water quickly and meet up with my brother. He's waiting for me out in the woods," she answered, reaching with her right hand to pick up her drink again. However, it was stopped cold as Doug grabbed her by the wrist.

"Oh come on, I'm sure your brother won't mind us having a little fun," he said, putting a bit of an authority to his voice. The change in attitude towards her caused the girl to suddenly have a frightened look on her face, her arm being held tightly by the human.

"Please let me go. You're hurting me and besides, I have to leave here as soon as I can," she said. But Doug only grabbed her arm tighter, causing the girl to give a small cry of pain. Suddenly, the half full glass of water dumped towards Doug, spilling into his lap as he jumped back in exclamation, letting go of her arm in the process. Shock quickly turned to anger as he reached out to grab the girl by her right frill.

"I'd leave her alone if you know what's good for you," said a female voice from a low lit corner of the bar. Doug turned back towards the source of the voice to see a mobian seated at one of the tables in the back area of the bar. She was wearing a brown cape with a hood put up over her head, obscuring her face from view. She also wore a green tank top with a matching pair of green shorts and shoes. Her fur was bright pink in color and she wore a black scabbard with a sword in it on her back along with a small brown backpack.

"Oh yeah? Well what are you gonna do about it?" asked Doug. The figure calmly took a sip of the cranberry juice she had on her table before standing up and starting to walk towards the three humans.

"Nothing if you back off now," said the mobian as she walked up within reaching distance of the group. Doug, now even angrier at being told to stop his actions, reached down and grabbed her by her shirt with both hands, lifting her into the air as the hood fell off, revealing her face to them. Her hair was the same bright pink color as the rest of her fur with three tufts of white hair in her bangs. Nine pink dreadlocks flowed down her back to about waist high, each one sporting three bands of white cloth at equal intervals. Her green eyes showed no hint of fear as her mouth curled into a smirk on her tan muzzle.

"No one tells me to back off!" he said loudly.

"Nice grip," said Angel Starfire before reaching up with her right hand to grasp Doug's left wrist. "Here's mine." With that, she squeezed hard on the human's wrist, the man crying out in pain as he felt the bone nearly get crushed to pieces, dropping the mobian to the ground.

"Get her!" he shouted as the heavy set human drew a small blaster pistol from his pants pocket, the short human brandishing a pocket knife.

"Take it outside!" shouted Gus as he ducked behind the bar. The human with the pocket knife lunged forward to try and impale Angel who stood her ground, dodging to the left at the last second as the stab went wide. She then swung her foot up at the human's hand, catching it square as the knife was knocked from his grasp. She then swung her whole body around, throwing a roundhouse kick to the human's chest, knocking him back several feet and to the ground as a couple of ribs gave way to the blow. Not missing a beat, she then leaped forward, dodging the first shot fired from the blaster pistol the heavy set human was wielding.

Bounding between tables as the human tried to track her, she gripped the hilt of the sword she carried with her, running up next to the table the human was standing next to. She then leapt over the table, unsheathing her sword as she gave one quick swing with it as she passed by the human, landing on the ground next to where the other mobian was seated, sheathing her sword. The heavy set human trained the pistol back onto her, but never got a shot off as the gun split in half, testament to what the target of the sword's swing was aimed at.

"I suggest you take your injured friends and leave before I decide to get serious. And if I ever catch you in here pulling this kind of stuff again, I'll make sure you regret it," said Angel.

"S-sure…We'll leave r-right away and w-won't come back," said the heavy set human as he helped the blonde haired human back to his feet, Doug following them towards the exit as fast as they could go.

"Good riddance," said Gus as he stood back up from behind the bar. "That's the last time I allow them in here. Thanks for running those dirtbags off, miss."

"Sure thing," she said before turning to the other mobian. "You okay?"

"Yes. I'm ok," she answered, turning her head with a look of worry on it towards the exit that the humans had just left from. "But did you have to hurt them?" she asked.

"They deserved it," said Angel. "After all, you didn't spill that glass. Looked to me like it tipped over on its own." Suddenly the aqua skinned mobian's look of worry became one of panic as she quickly got up off the barstool she was seated at.

"Oh no! I must leave now before he finds me here!" she said in near hysterics as she started running towards the exit. But before she could leave the building, a faint whine could be heard coming from outside. The girl stopped in her tracks, backing up slowly as the whine got progressively louder. "Too late…"she said in almost a whisper.

"Who's found you?" asked Angel.

"Mecha bot four," she answered. Angel quickly snapped to attention at the mention of Robo Knuckles heading their way.

"Can she hide behind the bar?" asked Angel. "If this robot finds her here, there's gonna be a big problem."

"Of course she can. Consider it my thanks for running off those thugs," said Gus, motioning for the girl to climb over the counter top. Angel retreated to her original table, pulling the hood back over her head to make it hard for Robo Knuckles to spot her in the dark corner. As soon as she was seated, the whine, which was now very loud, became silent. Angel kept her eyes glued to the doorway, hoping the mecha bot wouldn't walk through the swinging doors. But that hope was dashed as the bell rang, signaling the crimson echidna robot's entrance to the establishment.

He was just how Angel remembered him. He had five, triangular shaped tubes with vents on the tips flowing down the back of his head like dreadlocks, the three middle tubes containing a small thruster in them. His arms were thick and shaped like wings on an airplane to help him fly. At the end of each arm were two, six-inch dagger claws. On his back was an engine exhaust port and topping off his look was a white "V" mark on its chest.

As the mecha bot slowly took in its surroundings, Angel watched with intensity, ready to spring into action if it was called for. After about ten seconds of looking around the bar, Robo Knuckles walked calmly up to the counter, producing a miniature holographic device.

"You, bartender. Have you seen this girl come through here in the last two minutes?" he asked, the holographic display lighting up as an image of the mobian hiding behind the counter was produced by the machine. Gus' face twisted into one of deep thinking, trying not to let on that he knew full well where the young girl could be found.

"No…Can't say that I have," answered Gus.

"I see…" said Robo Knuckles as he put away the projector. He then jumped into the air, swinging his left foot out and catching Gus in the side of his left arm. Gus cried out in pain as he was knocked to the bar floor. Robo Knuckles then jumped up onto the counter. "Foolish human. I know she's here some-" was all he said before he spotted the mobian hiding behind the counter. "There you are!" he shouted.

"Heads up mecha bot!" shouted Angel, catching Robo Knuckles attention as he turned to face her. Angel was halfway across the room, her sword drawn back to stab him through the chest. But Robo Knuckles was faster on the draw and brought up both sets of his dagger claws, catching the blade between them. "Run!" shouted Angel as she tried to keep his claws pinned with her sword. The aquatic mobian quickly scrambled over the counter and dashed out the door.

"No! You won't get away from me again!" shouted Robo Knuckles as he threw his arms up, knocking Angel's sword away from him. He then ran out the door after the girl, his engine already firing up as he exited the building. He then flew up into the air, catching the attention of the humans on the dirt road below where several stands were erected as the populace traded goods with villagers and travelers alike. "I have you now!" he shouted as he spotted the girl running south out of the small village. But before he could even begin to pursue her, something hard flew into his exhaust port, tearing the engine fan to pieces as he lost control of his flying. As he plummeted towards the ground, he saw Angel take off after the girl just before he slammed head first into a watermelon stand, the whole thing crashing down around him. The stand's owner, a middle-aged woman, came running over to the wreckage from one of the other stands, asking what had happened. Her answer came as the mecha bot slowly climbed out of the mess of wood and destroyed melons.

"That echidna will pay for this," he said angrily as he finished climbing out of the wreckage. Reaching back into his exhaust port, he pulled out the fist sized rock that Angel had thrown into the port. "Next time I see her, she's dead." He then turned towards the owner of the stand. "You, human. Is there somewhere I can find a new engine fan around here?" The stand's owner, a little shaken by the aggressive tone the robot had, started shaking her head, her voice a little shaky.

"No…no I'm sorry but there's no place like that here," she answered. She then pointed towards the west exit of the village. "However, the next village over has a repair shop for all kinds of vehicles. You might find what you're looking for there. It's about a two day walk from here." The crimson robot sighed to himself as he looked back in the direction the two females had fled.

"This hunt is not over yet…not by a long shot," he muttered to himself before he started walking off in the direction of the neighboring village.

* * *

"Hey! Slow down a little bit! I don't think he's chasing us anymore!" shouted Angel as she ran after the aquatic mobian. They had been running for about five minutes now, and Angel was convinced that if Robo Knuckles hadn't caught up to them by now that the mecha bot had decided not to take them on with a busted engine. _For someone who looks more at home in the ocean than on land, she sure is quick on her feet_, thought Angel, the girl finally coming to a stop as Angel ran up beside her.

"Are you sure he isn't? He's not the type to give up easily," said the mobian. Angel shook her head as she took a second to catch her breath. It was then Angel noticed that despite the amount of running she had done, the mobian didn't look the least bit winded. Of course she'd never seen a mobian like this girl before, so who was she to say the girl's stamina wasn't a lot greater than her own.

"Oh believe me I know. But I doubt he's willing to take me on without his engine in working order," said Angel.

"What happened to his engine?" she asked. Angel couldn't help but smile.

"Threw a good sized rock up his tail pipe. Probably broke the fan and damaged a few other things. Not sure how long it'll take him to fix himself," answered Angel.

"Oh dear…You shouldn't have done that," said the girl, her face turning somewhat sad. Angel's cocked an eyebrow at the statement.

"Why not? I couldn't just let him catch you," said Angel.

"And I appreciate the help, I really do. But now he'll see you as a target. My brother and I were his only concern, but now he'll be out to get you for interfering," she said. Angel sighed, looking back in the direction of the town.

"You're probably right. If he's anything like the Robo Knuckles I know, he'll be royally ticked off with me," said Angel. "But we can worry about that when the time comes. For now, we should keep moving."

"I agree. My brother should be around here somewhere. We should try and find him," said the girl as she started walking into a bunch of overgrowth.

"The name's Angel by the way," said Angel as she walked up beside the young girl.

"You can call me Mira," said the girl.

"So why is Robo Knuckles even after you and your brother? I've never known him to have a personal grudge against someone before," said Angel, though as she said this she realized that she only had her timeline's version of the deadly mecha bot to go off of. In this timeline, Robo Knuckles could just as easily be hunting people for sport instead of a good reason.

"I don't know," answered Mira. "He's always seemed to hate us. I worry that he won't stop till has destroyed both of us."

"Don't worry about it too much. With me at your side, he'll think twice about trying to hurt you guys," said Angel.

"Oh no, you can't put yourself in harm's way on account of us," said Mira, looking back at Angel with a worried look.

"I promise you I will not leave you or your brother's side till Robo Knuckles has been dealt with," said Angel. She then gave a soft chuckle. "Besides, like you said, I'm on his hit list now. No sense splitting up when there is strength in numbers."

"I guess that's true…" said Mira, looking sadly at the ground. "Still, I wish he would just let us go. I don't wish to see him destroyed if it comes to that." Angel got a quizzical look on her face at that statement.

"Why not?" asked Angel as they entered a clearing in the middle of the woods. The thick canopy of the forest trees shaded the small clearing quite well despite the bright sun up above. It was then that a voice called out from behind a boulder at the far side of the clearing.

"There you are," said the voice as a figure walked out from behind the rock. Angel felt her heart jump into her throat as the figure's red eyes glared back at the two girls. A pair of eyes that she would never forget. The person stood about as tall as Angel. Most of his head and midsection were a rich blue color, while his muzzle, arms, and legs were shiny silver with his feet being solid red with a white stripe going across the middle of each foot. However, his most dominating feature was the large engine in-take that was in his chest. "And I see you aren't alone," said Metal Sonic.

"Get back!" shouted Angel to Mira as she pushed the young girl behind her, knocking her to the ground. She then reached up and unsheathed her sword as she took a defensive stance. "I should've known you were also in on this, Metal Sonic." But the blue mecha bot made no move to attack. Rather, he stood there watching Angel with interest.

"An interesting person you've dragged back with you," was all Metal Sonic said. By now, Mira had gotten back to her feet.

"I never intended to bring her along, but she stopped mecha bot four from catching me and followed me out here," said Mira, looking away from Metal Sonic. Angel almost dropped her stance at what Mira had said as she turned to look back at the young girl.

"Why are you apologizing to this monster?" asked Angel. Then a thought passed through her mind. One she wished that hadn't, but after hearing what Mira had just said, the idea of it seemed the most plausible. But she wasn't going to accept that answer due to what it meant. But she didn't even have a chance to begin to dismiss the thought because of what Mira said next. Something that turned her stomach to ice.

"He's not a monster. He's my brother," said Mira.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Tell me you're joking…Please…" said Angel, her voice shaken by what Mira had just said. Her defensive stance had all but relaxed itself after hearing the girl's statement. How could this mobian possibly believe that a robot such as Metal Sonic could be her brother? It seemed impossible. Yet, Mira had said it as if it were as plain as the nose on her face.

"Why do you think I'm joking?" asked Mira, curious as to why Angel had seemed to have lost a good deal of color in her face.

"But you're not even a robot!" said Angel, turning her full attention back to Mira. "How could you possibly think he's your brother!?" It was after saying this that a light fit of laughter came from behind her. Turning back to face Metal Sonic, who was still calmly standing in the same spot with an amused look on his face, she reset her stance. "And what's so funny to you?" she asked with a hint of annoyance to her voice.

"Nothing really. Just glad to see that my design of mecha bot six is good enough to fool even other mobians into believing she isn't mechanical," said Metal Sonic, crossing his arms over his chest. "To be honest, it was a difficult challenge crafting her to have no visible mechanical parts like all the other mecha bots." Angel snapped upright, a chill running down her spine at what Metal Sonic had just said.

"No…You mean Mira is-" started Angel as she looked back at the young girl.

"A mecha bot, same as me or Robo Knuckles," said Metal Sonic. He paused for a second before cocking his head to the left slightly. "Well, I guess 'same as' isn't a good description of her. Her design is far more advanced than any of her predecessors, including the one Robo Knuckles built six months ago. Leviathan I believe he was called."

"I know of Leviathan and what he was capable of doing. And what sort of twisted plan do you have for her? I've witnessed the kind of world you sick mecha bots crave," said Angel, leaping sideways so she could get both of them in her line of sight as she reset her stance. Both of the mecha bots exchanged glances, Metal Sonic letting his arms fall to his sides.

"I don't know what you're talking about echidna," said Metal Sonic. "All I'm trying to do at the moment is survive, same as Mira is. Mecha bot four is determined to destroy us both." Angel softened her stance a little at hearing this.

"Why is he even chasing you two down? Aren't you on the same side?" she asked. Mira shook her head.

"I don't know why he wants us destroyed. We've never done anything to him," said Mira. Metal Sonic merely huffed at Mira's response.

"He's just upset that Dr. Eggman doesn't hold him in a higher regard than myself since his design is superior to my own," said Metal Sonic. "Now that we have gone rogue, he sees this as his opportunity to prove his superiority." Angel relaxed her stance a little more, confusion evident on her face.

"What do you mean 'you've gone rogue'?" she asked. Metal Sonic shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. All that matters now is staying one step ahead of Robo Knuckles," said Metal Sonic. He then narrowed his eyes. "I'm actually surprised he didn't follow you back here if he had found Mira."

"I threw a rock into his engine exhaust. He won't be chasing after you for a couple of days. I know the nearest town with any real means to fix the damage is a day or two away from here," said Angel.

"Well, I thank you for doing that. It'll give us a little bit of breathing room for at least a couple of days. We might get a good enough head start that he won't be able to pick us up again," said Metal Sonic. He then turned towards Mira. "Unfortunately you didn't get the chance to pick up any fuel for me, so we'll be walking till we come across the next town."

"I'm sorry. I didn't have time to get it," said Mira, looking at the ground.

"Don't worry about it. At least you were able to replenish your power supply, and I don't need the fuel to function so we can at least keep moving," said Metal Sonic, who turned back to Angel. "You should get out of here too. After what you did, Robo Knuckles will want to kill you as well." Angel dropped her stance. Her face, which had been one of defiance, softened as the two mecha bots turned and started to walk off. Angel was about to let them go, but then she reminded herself that she had made a promise to Mira. One that she was regretting making now that she knew who she'd gotten herself tangled up with, but one that she would keep, as she was honor bound to keep it.

"Wait," she called out, stopping both of the mecha bots as they came near the edge of the clearing. They both turned to look back at her.

"What is it?" asked Mira. Angel sighed as she sheathed her sword and started walking towards them.

"As much as I'm…uncomfortable to say the least about this, I'm coming with you," she said. Metal Sonic's expression turned to one of surprise at what the echidna had just said.

"Why?" was all Metal Sonic could think to ask as Angel came to a stop a few feet in front of him.

"I made a promise to Mira that I would protect her and her brother from Robo Knuckles till he was stopped. I am honor bound to uphold that promise, even after knowing the truth about you two," said Angel. Metal Sonic seemed lost as to what to say, as this was something that had never happened to him before. Never before had anyone pledged themselves to help him out. In fact, as far as he could remember, everyone he had come into contact with was either aggressive towards him like Sonic was or was fearful of him like most of the other people he had ever been around. But right now, it was the first time someone was showing him compassion, even if it was kind of forced.

"You do know that Robo Knuckles will more than likely want to rip your head off for what you did to him next time he finds you, and that staying with us will only hasten that encounter," said Metal Sonic, wondering if it the echidna was trying to trick him into thinking she wasn't a threat to him. After all, she had openly prepared herself to attack him the instant he had become known to her. But then again, he reasoned to himself, if she was trying to lower his guard to attack, why had she put her weapon away?

"I do. And to be honest, both of us will have a better chance at stopping him if we work together, as much as the idea sickens me," said Angel.

"I agree," said Mira, looking over at Metal Sonic. "The two of you working together will increase your odds of winning by about 36%." Metal Sonic sighed, shaking his head slowly.

"Fine. You two win, but don't expect me to save your skin if Robo Knuckles goes after you first," he said, pointing at Angel who merely huffed at the comment.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Mecha," said Angel. Metal Sonic's eyes frowned at being called by the nickname Sonic and the Freedom Fighters had given him.

"Should've guessed you were with that hedgehog at some point in time, seeing as how only people that know him call me by that name," said Metal Sonic. He then crossed his arms. "Since you seem to know everything about me you need to know, I'd like to at least know the name of the person that's going to be following me for however long this takes."

"Angel is my name," she said.

"Very well, Angel. I suggest we get moving. I want to cover as much ground as possible before dark," said Metal Sonic as he turned away from the echidna and started walking out of the clearing, Mira following close behind.

Angel stood still for a few seconds, taking in everything that had transpired in the last few minutes. _I can't believe it's come to this…Forced to protect the one person I would rather throw into a trash compactor than help. I hate how ironic fate can be at times…I really do…_ she thought to herself before she started walking after the two mecha bots.

* * *

"Enter," said the voice of Dr. Eggman as the door to the main control room of the Command Center in Robotropolis whooshed open. A trio stood in the doorway, two of which were of obvious robotic design while the third seemed to look like an aquatic mobian. Slowly the trio entered the control room as the command chair sitting in the middle of the room whirred around to reveal the doctor himself seated in it. "My my. This new mecha bot seems to almost be alive when compared to the two of you," said Eggman as he stood up, wanting to get a closer look at the soft skinned mecha bot.

"Indeed," said Metal Sonic, walking forward while the other two mecha bots stayed back. He then motioned for Mira to walk up to where he was at, while Robo Knuckles simply stood in his place with his arms crossed over his chest, a look of annoyance plastered on his steel face. "She has been designed to be able to seamlessly blend into any mobian population, enabling her to gather intelligence on targets without arousing suspicion." As Mira reached Metal Sonic's side, the doctor leaned down to get a good look at her face.

"An interesting design to say the least. Why the aquatic look if I might ask?" asked Eggman as he slowly started walking around her, giving her a good once over while Mira's face turned to one of nervousness at being examined so thoroughly.

"Seeing as how neither myself or mecha bot four is designed to be able to handle aquatic environments, I decided that mecha bot six's design should include the ability to not only allow for such emersion into said environments, but to be able to thrive in it," said Metal Sonic.

"I see," said Eggman as he finished his close examination, noting the look on Mira's face. He looked over at Metal Sonic with a look of curiousness. "She seems…skittish…to me. What's your call sign and civilian name?" he asked Mira.

"Mecha bot six, but you may call me Mira," she answered. Eggman looked back over at Metal Sonic.

"Mira, huh? Is the name an acronym of sorts?" he asked Metal Sonic, who nodded.

"Yes. It is short for Marine Infiltration and Reconnaissance Android," he answered.

"Which is pointless seeing as how all our targets are all on land," spat Robo Knuckles, finally breaking his silence.

"Mecha bot four does have a point," said Eggman, turning away from the trio as he took a few steps away from the trio. "Still, there are advantages to her being able to perform underwater. Not many of my creations have that luxury." Metal Sonic looked back at Robo Knuckles, giving him a look asking why he was pointing out the downsides. Robo Knuckles only response was a small smirk. Metal Sonic narrowed his eyes for a second before returning his attention forward as the question he feared the most was asked.

"Seeing as how I asked you to develop mecha bot six to be a weapon that could rival the creature I showed you on the ancient tablet I found on Floating Island last year, I must know…Can she match its power?" asked Eggman, turning back around to look at the three mecha bots.

"Unknown, I must confess," said Metal Sonic, shying away slightly as the doctor's eyes narrowed.

"Unknown…How could you not know? You built her yourself!?" shouted Eggman. He then turned around and started walking towards the main control console, not even caring if Metal Sonic gave an answer. He then began typing away furiously at one of the keyboards. "Well, we'll just see what she can do right now!" On the other side of the room, one of the exits to the room opened as two Swatbots walked into the room, laser blasters in hand. Eggman turned back towards the three mecha bots. "Mira. Destroy them both!" he commanded, pointing at the Swatbots. As soon as this order was given, Metal Sonic felt like his internal fluids were turning to ice. He knew what would happen next, and he knew it wouldn't please the good doctor one bit.

"I refuse," said Mira, her voice shaky but stern at the same time.

"You…What!?" cried Eggman, disbelief clearly written on his face. Metal Sonic cringed at the doctor's outburst, while Robo Knuckles' smirk only widened. He too had known what Mira's response would be, and he knew it wouldn't sit well at all with the overweight human.

"If you will allow me to explain-" started Metal Sonic.

"There's nothing to 'explain' here! She is a failure! Destroy her immediately!" shouted Eggman to the two Swatbots standing at attention. The two robots raised their blasters towards Mira, who looked scared out of her mind. But before the Swatbots could fire, Metal Sonic walked in front of Mira, arms spread out in a protecting position.

"I will not allow you to destroy her simply because she refused one small order, especially when you have no idea what she is truly capable of," said Metal Sonic.

"If she won't even attack a throw away target like those two, then she is useless to me. And once I have no use for something, it is dealt with. You of all my creations should know that, seeing as how many of my machines you've personally seen me scrap in the past because they couldn't get the results I wanted," said Eggman. Suddenly, at this statement, something that had never occurred to Metal Sonic hit him like a lead brick. _He doesn't care in the least about any of his creations…even us mecha bots. If we don't get results, he'll scrap us the same as if we were a simple Swatbot._ Metal Sonic's eyes narrowed as this realization dawned on him for the first time in his existence.

"You would do the same to me just because I haven't been able to kill that hedgehog yet. Or worse yet, you'd do it as soon as I killed him cause I'd be of no more use to you, wouldn't I?" asked Metal Sonic. Not waiting to hear Eggman's answer, Metal Sonic whipped around and grabbed Mira by the waist. Firing his engine as fast as he could, he shot up towards the skylight, crashing through the tempered glass as the shards rained down on Eggman and Robo Knuckles, leveling out and flying away from the Command Center as fast as he was able to towards the south, Mira in tow.

* * *

"Hey!" shouted Angel, breaking Metal Sonic from his thoughts of what had transpired four days ago back in Robotropolis. Metal Sonic looked up at her from the rock he was seated on, annoyed at the fact that the echidna girl had bothered him. "What the heck had your mind scattered just now? I've said your name three times already."

"What do you want?" he asked Angel, trying to hide his annoyance at being disturbed, but failing miserably at it.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going to go scrounge up something to eat, so don't be alarmed if I'm gone for a little bit," she said.

"And I care you're doing this why?" he asked. Now it was Angel's turned to be annoyed.

"Well I was just letting you know. No reason to bite my head off," she said before turning and walking off towards the river they had decided to stop and rest by for the night. Metal Sonic watched her walk away, Mira walking back towards him from the same direction as the two girls crossed paths. The two of them exchanged a few words then departed with both of them having a smile on their faces. As Mira returned to their campsite, she walked over to another rock sitting opposite of Metal Sonic's and sat down, a cantina in her left hand.

"I like Angel. She is nice," said Mira before placing the cantina on the ground and picking up a fairly long stick. She then started prodding the small fire Angel had made about an hour earlier.

"I wouldn't know. No one's ever been 'nice' to me before," said Metal Sonic, his gaze looking down into the fire as it cast its light on the two mecha bots. It was nearing the ten o'clock hour by his own internal clock. Personally he would've liked to have kept going, but he also knew that an organic being like Angel would need to sleep to recharge for the next day. His eyes narrowed as he realized that having her along was slowing down their trek as neither he nor Mira required sleep to keep functioning.

"I thought I was pretty nice to you, wasn't I?" asked Mira, catching Metal Sonic's attention again as he looked up at her. Despite being so advanced, the young mecha bot was also very naïve about many things, as she had be designed to be. It was one of the qualities he liked about her.

"I guess you were," he answered. "You seem in a more upbeat mood than you've been since Robotropolis. Why is that?"

"It's having a new friend with us I guess. Angel's a nice ray of sunshine in this dark time," she answered. Metal Sonic cocked an eyebrow at Mira's answer. To think of Angel as someone who could put a bright side to everything that was going on seemed farfetched to him. Especially as hostile as she was when she first ran into him. _But then again, who hasn't been off put by me when they run into me?_ he thought to himself. The two mecha bots sat in silence for the next twenty minutes, neither of them saying another word until Angel came back, her backpack full of nuts, berries, and a fish from the nearby river. In her hand was a large stick.

"Sorry. Took longer to catch that fish than I thought it would take. Need to practice bare hand fishing more often," said Angel as she sat down.

"I could've helped you catch it. It would've only taken a second," said Mira.

"Nah. I needed the practice anyways," said Angel as she fashioned the fish onto the end of the stick, setting it in the ground about a half a foot away from the campfire with the fish hanging near the flames so it could be cooked properly. She then slipped the backpack off her back along with her sword, setting the blade up against one of the many rocks that dotted their campsite. She then picked a couple of the berries out of the pack and popped them into her mouth.

"May I try one of those?" asked Mira. Angel stopped chewing, looking over at Mira with a confused look. She then chewed a couple more times before swallowing the berries.

"I thought you mecha bots didn't eat?" she asked.

"Mira's a special case," said Metal Sonic, not taking his eyes off the fire. "She was designed to be able to emulate mobians in every facet of their lives. She can eat and drink same as you can. Her secondary power source is water so it made sense to give her an easy means to get it into her systems."

"I didn't think Eggman cared enough to give a mecha bot that kind of realism," said Angel.

"That's because my brother designed and built me, not Dr. Eggman," said Mira, her face full of pride at the statement.

"Huh…Would've figured anything a mecha bot would build would be nothing but a destructive horror. Not some soft spoken, well-mannered girl," said Angel as she offered a few of the berries to Mira, who happily took them and plopped them into her mouth. Metal Sonic looked over at Angel with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would you think that?" he asked. Angel huffed at the question.

"Seeing all the things Leviathan did and created, why wouldn't I think that?" she countered.

"Leviathan never built anything. He used the Timestones in some failed attempt to change history," said Metal Sonic, now confused as to what Angel was referring to. _I keep forgetting this isn't the same Metal Sonic as the one from my timeline. He doesn't know of all the nightmares Leviathan unleashed on the planet,_ thought Angel.

"These are so good!" said Mira, pulling both their attention away from the discussion to see Mira happily chewing the berries. Angel's gaze softened into a smile as she saw the look of joy on the girl mecha bot's face.

"Glad you like them," said Angel, picking several more from her pack and offering them to her. "Want some more?"

"Yes please!" said Mira as she took the berries. It was at this moment that Angel's eyes caught sight of something she had never expected to see. Metal Sonic was watching Mira enjoying the berries, a small smile plastered on his face. Seeing this, she couldn't deny that there was something very different about this Metal Sonic than the cold blooded killer version from her timeline. He seemed relatively calm and gentle compared to what she had always envisioned him as being. Sure his manners and conversations skills needed work. But then, she figured, he's probably never had a civilized conversation before with anyone other than maybe Mira.

Still, she also knew that he was designed for one thing and one thing only. To kill Sonic. And he would do whatever it took to achieve that goal. Yet, to see him like he was now made her begin to doubt that he was as ruthless a machine as the one from her timeline as well as how Sonic had described him as being in this one. She realized, though, that she would need more to go on before making such a decision about someone she had at one time sworn to hunt down and destroy for the murderous acts inflicted upon her family and village. _One moment does not a person's character reveal,_ she told herself before popping a couple more berries into her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Run away…That's the only thought that went through Angel's mind as she looked back over her shoulder, wondering when and where the strike would come from. Maybe if she ran fast enough, the thing that was chasing after her would grow tired and quit. But she quickly gave up that hope. The thing that was now stalking her through the thick jungle would never tire or give up. A loud screeching sound from behind her only made her hasten her escape, running through the jungle underbrush as fast as her legs would carry her.

"You can't escape from me," hissed a deep, fluid male voice. Angel tried to determine where the voice had come from, but it seemed as if it emanated from all around her. Pushing her fear as far back in her mind as she could, she pressed onward. As she finally entered a large clearing, she came to an abrupt halt. Dozens of huts now stood before her, each one ablaze. Yet the fire didn't seem to consume the huts at all, but rather continue to burn in almost a pattern of sorts. Suddenly, the air was pierced by a cry that she herself would never forget. In the clearing of the huts, she watched as her eight year old self ran screaming at the top of her lungs as she swung her sword at a shadowy Metal Sonic.

"Don't do it! Get out of there!" yelled Angel to her younger self. But the child paid no attention to her older self as she followed through with the blow, the sword being caught in mid-swing by the mecha bot. But unlike the metallic clang the older Angel had expected to hear, the sickening sound of the weapon slicing into flesh could be heard. Then the blow she expected the figure to do came, knocking the younger echidna to the ground. Metal Sonic then dropped the sword and started to approach the older Angel.

But as he came closer, his features started to warp. Slowly, his body grew much larger, his chest cavity filling out with an orange hued color flesh. His head started morph into more of a reptilian like quality, his red eyes becoming almost cat-like in appearance as silver metal flowed down from the tip of his nose to the tip of the tail that was now growing out of the monster's back. His feet were also changing from looking sneaker-like to more of a clawed, lizard-like quality.

"It doesn't matter what you do or what you say," hissed the voice again from all around her. The fear that Angel had kept to the back of her mind rushed to the forefront once more, the echidna girl backing away from the monstrosity that was now calmly walking towards her. "You can't run away from your destiny."

"I choose my own destiny!" shouted Angel as she continued to back away. So intent was she on backing up that she didn't realize her back was to a hut till she ran into it. As she stood there frozen in fear, the monster continued to walk slowly towards her, its warped body becoming more and more cohesive.

"But I'm afraid you already chose your own destiny," said the voice softly, almost eerily. Angel shook her head slowly as she stared wide eyed at the beast before her.

"No…That's not true! I never chose a destiny for myself!" she screamed at the shadowy figure that now towered over her small form.

"Ah, but you did all those years ago. You made the choice yourself when you were only nine years old," replied the voice. Angel then noticed that she seemed shorter than before. A quick once over revealed to her that she had regressed in age back to herself as a nine year old.

"W-what are you t-talking about? What ch-choice!?" she shakily yelled at the figure as she ducked down into a fetal position. By now, the beast was now standing right over her, its red eyes casting their glow down at her as the raging fires continued to burn all around her, glinting off the silvery armor that the beast wore.

"The choice…to be forever under my control!" cried the voice as its head lunged forward, its gaping maw ready to devour the small girl. But before the jaws could reach her, a bright light burst forth from the creature, blinding Angel as she held up her arms to shield her eyes from the light.

* * *

The light of the morning sun cast its glare through the treetops, illuminating the clearing that the trio had opted to stop at for the night. The time was 6:34am according to Metal Sonic's internal clock, the mecha bot having not moved from the rock he had been sitting on since the night before. Mira, on the other hand, had gone off to collect some of the same berries Angel had gathered the night before so that the echidna would have something to eat when she woke up. Metal Sonic's eyes winked on as he heard Angel stir in her sleep. The girl was groaning softly to herself as she lay curled up in a ball. He also noticed that she seemed to be sweating somewhat despite the cool morning air.

_I wonder what's wrong with her. I hope she's not getting sick on us. Still, despite whatever's going on,_ _she's had enough sleep. We need to get moving again as soon as possible, _thought Metal Sonic. Getting up off his rock, he moved over next to her and nudged her with his foot. Getting no response, he nudged her a little harder. Still getting no response, he leaned down, grabbed her with both hands, and started shaking her fairly hard. This time, Angel reacted as she groaned loudly at the rude awakening.

"Get away from me!" she shouted, her mind still caught up in her nightmare. Metal Sonic let go of her in shock to the sudden outburst, taking a couple of steps back. Angel's eyes then flew open, sweat dripping off her brow as she quickly leaped to her feet.

"What are you all worked up over?" asked Metal Sonic. Angel's eyes quickly looked over at the source of the voice, taking in the sight of Metal Sonic standing only a few feet away from her. Her face immediately turned into an angry scowl.

"Murderer!" she shouted, looking around desperately for her sword. Spotting it sitting on the ground a couple feet behind her, she whipped around, scooping up the blade in her hands as she whirred around to face Metal Sonic, setting herself into an offensive stance. She then lunged forward at Metal Sonic. Taken by surprise, the mecha bot barely had the time to dodge to the left, the blade stabbing right through where he had been standing just a split second ago. Now sure that she was trying to hurt him, Metal Sonic leaped backwards several years, putting distance between the two of them.

"What the heck has gotten into you!?" shouted Metal Sonic, his own face now full of anger at having been attacked. Not bothering to answer, she started to charge him, raising her sword back to deliver a full force blow.

"Angel stop!" shouted Mira as she ran into the clearing, breaking through Angel's angry haze as the echidna suddenly recalled the day before, stopping halfway into her charge. "Why are you trying to hurt him!?" asked Mira frantically. Angel, now fully aware of what she was doing, threw her sword to the ground like it was molten slag.

"Care to explain yourself?" asked Metal Sonic, glaring at the echidna with seething anger.

"I'm sorry…" said Angel, afraid now that Metal Sonic would try to retaliate for what she had done. She could tell he was angry, not only from the look on his face, but also from his curled up fists. "I was still caught up in a nightmare I was having."

"What kind of nightmare would make you attack my brother unprovoked?" asked Mira. Angel turned away at the question.

"One I've been having almost every night since I battled-" she started before cutting herself off, realizing she was about to say more than she wanted to.

"Battled? Battled who?" asked Mira. Angel just shook her head.

"It's not important," she answered. Looking back over at Metal Sonic, she put on the best apologetic face she could muster for the mecha bot. "I'm sorry I attacked you. I had forgotten about yesterday in the heat of the moment." Metal Sonic continued to glare at her for a few more seconds, then sighed softly as his scowl fell away, his fists uncurling.

"I suppose I asked for that for waking someone like you from their sleep the way I did," said Metal Sonic.

"Maybe I should wake her up from now on," said Mira.

"Probably a good idea," said Angel, relaxing her body again as the situation calmed back down. "Really, I didn't mean to do that. Just not used to waking up with a mecha bot staring me right in the face."

"My fault for not taking that into consideration when I woke you," said Metal Sonic. "Now then, we should get moving again. I doubt that Robo Knuckles will stay off out trail for too long so we need to put as much distance between us and him as we can."

"I'm all for that," said Mira.

"You know that probably won't matter in the end. The next town's a couple days walk away from here and Robo Knuckles probably didn't stop for the night like we did, meaning he's probably reached the town where he can fix himself," said Angel.

"Well if you weren't slowing us down, we'd be another seven hours further along on our trip," said Metal Sonic, annoyance in his voice. "I can't fly or fight real well without fuel in my systems to power my engine. Mira's not a fighter either, which means-"

"Which means right now I'm the only thing that'll stand between him and you two if he gets to us before the next town," said Angel, cutting off Metal Sonic.

"You do know that doesn't fill me with any sense of relief, right?" asked Metal Sonic.

"Be thankful she's her at all," said Mira. "After all, we probably wouldn't even be here right now if she hadn't stopped him back in the last town." Metal Sonic threw up his arms in defeat as he turned away from his two companions.

"Whatever, let's just get moving," said Metal Sonic sternly before he started walking towards the river, leaving the two girls behind in the clearing.

"I've never seen him so agitated before," said Mira, worry evident on her face.

"Really? That seems kind of hard for me to believe," said Angel.

"Well, if you hadn't riled him up in the first place, I doubt he'd be like this," said Mira. Angel slumped her shoulders at the mention of her actions.

"Again, I'm sorry. When I'm in fight or flight mode, I tend to fight rather than flee," she said.

"But why would you be that scared of Metal Sonic. You hadn't even met him till yesterday," said Mira.

"I've…Just heard bad things about him is all," answered Angel. She then walked over and picked up her sword from its resting spot, sheathing it and then swinging the scabbard over her shoulder. "Think he'll mind if I get something to eat before we continue?" Mira's worried look changed to a more upbeat look as she held up Angel's backpack. The pack was filled halfway with berries she had been collecting for the last half hour.

"Already thought of that," said Mira, giving the echidna a smile.

"Thanks a bunch. I can eat these as we walk," said Angel as she took the pack from Mira. The two of them then started walking off after Metal Sonic.

* * *

The ringing sound of the front door's bell caught the attention of the older gentleman that ran his small town's mechanic shop. The man was in his mid-50s, his salt and pepper hair cut neatly to about a half an inch in length. His blue eyes were framed by an expensive looking pair of glasses. He looked up from the repair job he was in the middle of performing at the sound of the bell. A little annoyed at having to stop his current project, he grumbled something softly under his breath before walking out of the back room and into the main area of his shop. But his annoyance quickly turned to both surprise and intrigue at his new customer. After all, it wasn't every day that a robot walked into your workplace.

"Well hello there. What can I do for you this fine day?" asked the gentleman. Robo Knuckles looked up from the engine he was inspecting, taking in the sight of the human he was now dealing with.

"I am in need of repairs. And you are going to do them," said Robo Knuckles. _Well, at least he's upfront with what he wants done,_ thought the gentleman.

"Well, I've already got enough on my plate for the next couple of days. I'll be free to do them after I finish with the repair job I've got going on right now in the back. Check back in a few days," he said. Robo Knuckles eyes narrowed at hearing this.

"You act like I'm giving you an option in this," he said. Now the man was getting annoyed.

"Look pal, I don't just drop everything on request. I've got people wanting repairs done in front of you. Now if you can't wait till I'm free, then go to someone else who is," said the man.

"Not an option," said Robo Knuckles as he started walking towards the counter, brandishing his dagger claws. Realizing he was losing control of the situation, the man reached down and grabbed a small blaster pistol from under the counter. He then pointed it at Robo Knuckles.

"Get out of my store if you know what's good for you," said the man sternly. Robo Knuckles only cracked a smile at the man's threat.

"Cute," was all the mecha bot said before leaping forward and slashing the gun with his left claws, splitting it in two. The man finally panicked, running into the back room as he slammed the door shut, locking it from the inside.

"Look! I'm not even sure I can fix something like you," yelled the man through the door.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see you try then, won't it," said Robo Knuckles as he calmly walked behind the counter and up to the locked door. He then thrust both sets of dagger claws through the wooden door, splintering it as the claws dug through the wood. He then used his robotic strength to peel the door open, the wooden door creaking as it was split open from the force. With a final pull, the door was ripped off its hinges, Robo Knuckles tossing it over his head and onto the floor of the main room. "Now then, if you don't want to end up like that door, I suggest you get to work." The man merely nodded, slowly getting up off the floor and moving towards his workbench.

"O-okay…What is it that n-needs repairing," he asked.

"My main engine fan was torn up by a rock. I need that replaced. There are a few other minor repairs that need to be done that I have to have someone else do due to the fact that I simply can't reach around to my engine intake to fix them," said Robo Knuckles.

"R-right…I think I might have a s-spare engine fan that will fit your frame," said the man as he started rifling through spare parts sitting on various benches. Robo Knuckles then snapped upright as his sensors detected a very faint chaos energy signal coming from about fifteen miles to the southeast. It lasted only a split second, but the mecha bot knew all too well what the signal meant. _Foolish of you to do that. Now I know right where you are at this very moment,_ thought Robo Knuckles. He then turned his attention back to the human who was still sifting through the parts on his tables.

"Be quick about this or else I will lose the friendly attitude fast," said Robo Knuckles as he hopped up onto the main workbench.

"I'll go as fast as I can," said the man, finding the engine fan in an old milk crate full of parts.

* * *

The trio of travelers had kept rather quiet since the outburst in the clearing earlier that morning. Metal Sonic led the group with Angel and Mira walking a short distance behind him as they traveled alongside of the river they had begun following the other day. As the time neared the two o'clock hour, Angel finally broke the silence.

"I need to get something to eat. Mind if we stop for a short while?" she asked. Metal Sonic came to a stop, turning to look back at her.

"If you must, though I'd rather keep going," he said.

"She isn't a machine like us. She needs to rest every once in a while," said Mira.

"Just long enough to catch a fish or two. Could one of you build a fire while I catch the fish? As long as it takes me to catch one, you should have it going strong by the time I get done," said Angel.

"Actually, let me catch the fish this time. I can get them out of there in a snap. That is, if you think it's okay to do that?" asked Mira, looking back at Metal Sonic.

"We should be far enough way that he won't be able to track you doing that," said Metal Sonic.

"Doing what?" asked Angel, now curious as to what the two mecha bots were referring to.

"You'll see," was all Metal Sonic said.

"Fine. I actually want to see you catch them. See if I can pick up on anything so I can do it easier next time I try to do it," said Angel. She then looked over at Metal Sonic. "Would you mind getting the firewood then to save us some time?" Metal Sonic narrowed his eyes with annoyance.

"Only to save us some time," was his only response as he turned and walked back into the forest. Angel turned her attention back to Mira, who was standing next to the riverbed, holding her arms out over the water. Angel's face turned into one of confusion. Mira wasn't even in the water at all, which made the echidna wonder if Mira really knew how to catch a fish bare handed or not.

"Are you sure you know how to catch a fish?" asked Angel.

"Well, I don't know how to catch one the way you did last night, but I have my own way of getting them out of the water," she answered. Angel confusion turned to curiosity, now wondering what it was that Mira would do to get the fish. A couple of minutes passed by, then suddenly, a familiar feeling washed over Angel's mind as she felt the presence of something she knew was impossible. _Why do I suddenly feel the Master Emerald's energy here? We aren't anywhere near the Floating Island,_ she thought to herself. Suddenly, two small waves of water splashed out of the river, landing on the ground a few feet away from the riverbed as a couple of fish flopped around on the ground where the water landed. "That should do it," said Mira, turning back around to face Angel. It was then that Angel made the connection as she noticed that the normally dull, green gemstone set in Mira's forehead was now softly glowing.

"So, you're more like Leviathan than I thought," said Angel. Mira's happy disposition turned to one of confusion at hearing Angel say that.

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her head to the side as the glow from the Master Emerald shard faded back to its normal dull look.

"You're running off a shard of the Master Emerald, same as Leviathan did," said Angel, getting angry without even realizing she was doing so. However, Mira noticed the look on Angel's face and began to grow nervous.

"I am…But why is that a problem?" she asked.

"That emerald is sacred to my people. Its power shouldn't be used by anyone but the Guardian," she said, shouting the last half of her sentence. She then realized that she had snapped at Mira. She calmed herself back down, telling herself that Mira probably had no idea what the Master Emerald even was except that she was using it for a power source. "I'm sorry I yelled…" she said softly.

"I had no clue that it was from something sacred," said Mira. "All I know about the Master Emerald is that it is a large source of chaos energy that was used to power both myself and mecha bot five."

"Well, at least in your case it's being used to power someone who's actually a nice person. Leviathan was the worst possible monster to wield its power," said Angel.

"But how was Leviathan a monster? From what I know of him, he was a failed experiment that went on to disappear into the timeline somewhere and apparently fail at whatever he was attempting to do," said Mira. By now, Metal Sonic was walking back with an arm full of firewood.

"Yes. Do tell us how you seem to know so much about Leviathan," said Metal Sonic, catching what the two of them had just said as he was walking out of the forest. "All the accounts I've seen pointed to him only ever having one interaction with anyone from Knothole, and I doubt you were there when he attacked the village."

"I'd rather not say," said Angel, shying away from the question. However, Metal Sonic only replied with a small smile.

"I don't think much has to be said. Having had the last twenty four hours to dwell on the things you eluded to yesterday, plus the way you reacted this morning, I think I've come to realize something about you that you've been hiding from us," said Metal Sonic.

"What would that be?" asked Mira, noting that Angel was now looking rather nervous. Metal Sonic put the firewood onto the ground before walking up next to Angel. Looking her in the eye, he then said what Angel had feared he would say.

"You're from a different timeline. The one where Leviathan succeeded in changing the past," said Metal Sonic. Mira looked over at Angel, her face full of wondering at what Metal Sonic had said.

"Is that true?" asked Mira. Angel looked away from Metal Sonic, turning around to face away from the two mecha bots as she started walking away from them slowly.

"It's the only way to explain why you see Leviathan the way you do. My guess is that you are from a world where he took over the planet, and that you were part of whatever faction was fighting to free it from him. You won, went back to the past, and stopped him from ever changing history. That in turn cut you off from your original timeline, which explains why you're in our timeline now," said Metal Sonic. Angel stopped walking away from the two mecha bots, turning back around to face them.

"I suppose having as advanced of an AI matrix as you do, it wasn't that hard to gleam the facts out of what little clues I gave you," said Angel.

"So it is true?" asked Mira.

"Some of it is," answered Angel. "I am from an alternate timeline where Leviathan ruled over the planet with an iron fist. But I wasn't part of the Freedom Fighters trying to stop him. At least, not till Sonic and his friends found me on Floating Island that is."

"Care to elaborate?" asked Metal Sonic, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. Let's just say I still have demons from that life that I'm still dealing with," said Angel.

"The nightmare from this morning?" asked Metal Sonic. Angel merely nodded. "Fair enough. Still, I want to know one more thing. And I want you to promise me you'll answer this question truthfully, so that I know you aren't making up some excuse." Now it was Angel's turn to cross her arms over her chest.

"Only if you promise to answer something I want to ask you," answered Angel. Metal Sonic was taken aback by the request a little bit, not having expected her to ask him that.

"Fine. I have nothing to hide," he said.

"Then what is it you want to know?" asked Angel.

"When I woke you up this morning, right after you got your first good look at me, you called me something that has been on my mind ever since," he said. Angel suddenly regretted having agreed to answer the question as she realized where he was going with it. And she wasn't sure if he'd like the answer she was going to have to give him due to her promising not to lie about it. "Why did you call me a murderer? I haven't killed anyone, save for trying to kill that miserable hedgehog." Angel swallowed hard, realizing she was backed into a corner.

"Okay. I'll answer that, but just remember, you asked me to tell you," she said nervously.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Metal Sonic.

"I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear, am I?" asked Mira. Angel just shook her head 'no' at the question.

"In my timeline, you fell into insanity at having never had the chance to fight Sonic. Leviathan had already killed him before he built you in my world, leaving you with nothing for a goal to live for. You eventually went on a killing spree through the southern continent, killing hundreds of people and destroying any place you happened upon," said Angel. She noticed that Mira had a horrified look to her face, while Metal Sonic's face was as stoic as when she had started. "You eventually found my village. You…killed most of the echidnas…" Here, she started to get a little choked up as she recounted in her own mind that horrible night. "You…killed both of my parents…right in front of my eyes…"

"That's enough," said Mira, noticing that tears were starting to form in the echidna's eyes as she walked over and gave her a small hug, trying to comfort her. Metal Sonic looked away from the two of them.

"Well, that definitely explains why you reacted the way you did towards me both this morning and when we met. Though how you survived seems strange considering how violent I was in your timeline," said Metal Sonic.

"I had some help," was all Angel said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I could never see my brother acting like that. He's never tried to hurt anyone aside from this Sonic person as far as I know, and that's only because his programming tells him to kill Sonic," said Mira.

"I think it's because here, he has a focus for all that aggression," said Angel.

"You mean that hedgehog, don't you?" asked Metal Sonic.

"Yes, which leads me to the question I wanted to ask you," said Angel.

"Which is what?" asked Metal Sonic.

"What do you plan to do afterwards if you do manage to kill Sonic?" asked Angel.

"I…" started Metal Sonic, suddenly catching himself as he realized he had no real answer for that question. "I'm…not sure really…I never thought about what would happen should I kill him and complete my programming…"

"Well, if you truly have gone rogue from Dr. Eggman like you said yesterday, than really it's up to you and you alone to decide what to do with yourself afterwards," said Angel. Metal Sonic then looked down at the ground, his face taking on an almost pained look.

"I've never been able to decide what to do on my own. I've always followed Dr. Eggman's orders when it came to anything not involving killing that hedgehog," he said. "I've never been given a choice in what I've done up to now." Angel's expression turned to one of sadness, realizing only now that Metal Sonic was a victim himself, denied any true sense of freedom by being controlled by Dr. Eggman.

"Hey," said Angel softly, walking over and putting both her hands on the mecha bot's shoulders, causing him to look back up at her. "Don't dwell on that. For whatever reason you had, you've broken free of those chains. You decide where things go from here, not Dr. Eggman."

"She's right," said Mira. "You decide what happens now." Metal Sonic's expression turned a little brighter, giving a small nod as Angel backed away. She then gave a small smirk as something popped in her head.

"I don't suppose that you having a choice in what you do now that I could convince you to not kill Sonic, could I?" she asked. Metal Sonic just shook his head.

"No. Killing him is the whole reason I was brought into this world. To go against that would be to deny my purpose in life. Even if I have a choice that doesn't involve following Dr. Eggman blindly anymore, I refuse to quit pursuing my goal of eventually killing him. It's what gives me a reason to exist," said Metal Sonic.

"Well, I can't say that I like that decision at all, but as someone else who once had only one reason to live I can at least respect your choice," said Angel, disappointed she would be unable to turn the mecha bot away from going down that path.

"'Respect my choice'? Now there's something I never would've expected you to say. Everyone else I've ever met that knows what I've been trying to do for the last year and a half has been horrified by that knowledge," said Metal Sonic.

"Like I said, I'm not happy that you're still going to continue to try and kill him, but it's not my place to tell you what to do," said Angel.

"I'm not a big fan of it either, but we each must follow our own path," said Mira.

"Exactly," said Angel. She then walked over to the two fish that had stopped flopping about. Reaching down and picking them up, she turned back to the two mecha bots. "Now then, let's get these things cooked so we can get back to our trek."

"I'm all for that," said Mira as she walked over and started arranging the firewood into a neat pile. "I have a bad feeling Robo Knuckles won't be off our trail for too much longer."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"There. I believe that's the last repair job," said the man tending to Robo Knuckles' repairs. He had worked tirelessly for the last five hours to replace the damaged engine fan and fix the other minor problems that had been caused by the rock. The mecha bot jumped down off the workbench, running a systems check to see if indeed the man had finished all the necessary repair work. As each system came back in the green, he turned to face the man.

"You have done an adequate job. As far as I can tell all my systems are functioning at their normal level," said Robo Knuckles. He then turned and started walking out of the back room of the shop, leaping over the counter and into the main room.

"So that's it? You're just leaving as if nothing happened?" asked the man, still nervous as to what the mecha bot might do.

"Truth be told I had planned on trashing the place as retribution for your earlier defiance, but my quarry made a mistake and I don't want to miss catching up with them. So consider yourself lucky that I'm leaving you without causing a problem," said Robo Knuckles. The man gulped, nodding his head in acknowledgement. Robo Knuckles then walked outside. Getting his bearings, he then fired up his engine, taking off into the air as he startled those on the ground around him from his sudden take off. "Now then, fifteen miles to the southeast. Too bad that signal came about five hours ago," said Robo Knuckles to himself. _Still, they're on foot which means they can't have gotten too far from that spot in just five hours. Which means I'll have them for sure this time._ With a laugh, he fired his engine full blast as he shot towards the southeast.

* * *

"There's been something I've been meaning to ask you Mecha," said Angel as she walked alongside of the two mecha bots, breaking the silence that had been present ever since they had gotten back on their way. They had decided to stick close to the river, guessing that the next town would be near it since it was the only source of fresh water in the area as far as they knew.

"What would that be?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Why did you build Mira in the first place?" asked Angel. "I would've figured after how things went with Leviathan that no one else would build another mecha bot."

"She was commissioned by Dr. Eggman to be a weapon that could be powerful enough to wipe out a city. So I took the last shard of the Master Emerald that we had and built Mira using it as her power source," said Metal Sonic.

"A weapon? She sure doesn't act like a weapon would," said Angel.

"To be honest, I don't even like violence," said Mira.

"And you don't seem to want to destroy anything," said Angel. Mira shook her head.

"I don't see the point in senseless destruction either," she said.

"Exactly. You are kind and gentle. Not something becoming of a weapon," said Angel.

"There is a reason for that," said Metal Sonic, drawing Angel's attention back to him. "When I designed her AI matrix, I decided that unlike all the preceding mecha bots, including myself, she would not have aggression and malic be her underlying personality traits. Rather, I wanted her to be calm and collected, not actively trying to hurt people.

"Which again, I find odd if you were making her to be a weapon," said Angel.

"A weapon that has aggression and power hungry thoughts is a loose cannon. Leviathan was a perfect example of that. I refused to have the same fate befall Mira," said Metal Sonic. "However, the true challenge was making her as powerful as she was supposed to be. Given that the Master Emerald is a great source of chaos energy, I was hoping that she would be able to display some kind of ability related to its power. I was surprised it manifested into the ability to control wind and water at will. However, I reminded myself that chaos energy is a difficult thing to put a handle on when determining what it's capable of doing."

"Yes. Chaos energy is very unpredictable. Even controlling the Master Emerald on Floating Island sometimes becomes an issue, causing storms to brew in the surrounding airspace or any number of other things," said Angel, remembering the intense lightning storm that had erupted in the skies the first time she had tried to control the Master Emerald's power. She could remember hearing the thunder even in the underground sanctuary where the Master Emerald was kept.

"Still, I overshot where I was aiming for her personality to be at. Instead of still being willing to use her powers when ordered to use them to harm someone or destroy something, she instead wanted to only use them when it was called for," said Metal Sonic. Then, after a couple moments of thought, he added, "Or to have fun. She always enjoyed playing with water when we weren't running tests."

"I still do," said Mira, a smile forming on her face. "It's fun to take a bunch of water and turn it into shapes and splash it around."

"Must be," said Angel, noting the smile on the girl mecha bot's face. She then turned back to Metal Sonic. "So I'm guessing this little detail didn't go over very well when she met the good doctor."

"No. I had hoped to show him that she could still be useful in other areas aside from mindless destruction. That was why I designed her to look like a mobian. So that she would be able to blend into mobian populations and give back information on certain things. Enemy movement, placement of weapons in bases, maybe even infiltrate Knothole if possible," said Metal Sonic.

"So you still had a way for her to contribute to stuff even if she didn't use her powers," said Angel, a frown etched onto her face.

"Yes. To further Dr. Eggman's goals was the whole point of Mira's construction," said Metal Sonic. He then looked away from Angel. "Though after realizing the truth about him after the way he reacted to Mira disobeying him, I came to the realization that I personally didn't have any real feelings on the matter of hurting others or causing destruction. To be honest, all I want is to kill that hedgehog. Nothing more."

"To think I would ever hear you say you don't wish to harm people," said Angel.

"I think he's always felt that way, he was just too caught up in obeying Dr. Eggman to think about it," said Mira.

"Either way, it's not something I ever would've expected to hear him say," said Angel. As they rounded the next bend in the river, they came upon a large clearing in the forest that had a vast lake that the river was draining into set in the middle of the clearing.

"Wow! I haven't seen this much water in one place before," said Mira as she ran over to the edge of the water, looking down at her reflection.

"Well, guess we were wrong about this river leading to the next town," said Angel as she walked over to a boulder sitting near the edge of the lake. Sitting down, she slid her backpack and scabbard off and set them on the ground before stretching her limbs out. "Good a place to take a quick break as any though."

"I'm getting a little tired of taking breaks. It hasn't been that long since you last ate," said Metal Sonic.

"Just for a couple of minutes. My feet are starting to ache a little," said Angel.

"And I'd like to go swimming if just for a little bit. I haven't been in water in almost a week," said Mira. Metal Sonic sighed and threw his hands up in defeat.

"Fine. Five minutes and then we're back on the road," he said. A gleeful cry came out of Mira's mouth as she turned and ran over to the edge of the lake. After a quick survey of the water to make sure there were no rocks or anything in the way, she dove in headfirst. Like a shot she sped out towards the middle of the vast lake going over forty miles per hour as her tail lashed about in the water behind her.

"She's fast," observed Angel as she watched the female mecha bot reach the middle of the lake and dive under. She then reached down and took both her shoes off, rubbing her sore feet to try and get the ache to fade a little.

"I would hope so being designed to be at home in the water," said Metal Sonic. Angel then looked back up at Metal Sonic, catching his attention.

"You said before that the shard in her forehead gave her the ability to control wind and water, right?" she asked. Metal Sonic merely nodded at this question. "I find it strange that Leviathan displayed no such powers despite the fact that he was being powered by a shard of the Master Emerald."

"Perhaps he had a power but never discovered it," suggested Metal Sonic. "Or maybe that shard possessed no special properties. Who's to say why he didn't display some kind of power?"

"Maybe. At least now I know how that glass spilled in the bar, and how Robo Knuckles has been tracking you all this time. She's not very good at hiding her power, is she?" she asked.

"No. She's tried not to use it most of the time we've been on the run, but her excitement usually sets it off by accident at times. I'm not sure she has complete control over it," said Metal Sonic. "Only time will tell if she ever masters it or not."

"I think she has more control than you think, but you might be right about her not having full control over it. If she did she wouldn't have accidently spilled that glass of water and alerted Robo Knuckles to where she was at back in the last town," said Angel.

"She's drawn his attention twice doing something similar before the other day. Luckily we managed to hide from him and avoid being found, but that won't keep. Sooner or later he's going to catch up to us," said Metal Sonic.

"You don't think she let the cat out of the bag on where we were five hours ago when she caught those fish do you?" she asked.

"I highly doubt it. We should've been well out of range of his radar by that point in time," said Metal Sonic. Angel only nodded before putting her shoes back on. As the second one slid on her foot, however, she started to hear a very faint noise coming from the direction of the river. And it was slowly getting louder. Suddenly realizing what the noise was, she shot up and snagged her scabbard from its resting place, quickly throwing it over her shoulder.

"I think someone was able to see her use her powers back there," said Angel as the noise of an engine humming steadily grew louder. Metal Sonic also turned towards the source of the noise.

"I think you're right," said Metal Sonic. Angel glanced back out at the lake, seeing Mira swimming lazily on her back, having not noticed the noise yet.

"Can Robo Knuckles get to Mira if she stays in the water?" asked Angel.

"No. Neither of us were designed to function underwater," said Metal Sonic. Angel turned towards the area of the lake Mira was in, cupping her hands over her mouth.

"Mira! Robo Knuckles' found us! Stay underwater till he's gone!" shouted Angel.

"But what about you two?" hollered Mira.

"We'll be fine, just stay in the water!" yelled Angel. She then turned to face Metal Sonic. "And you, go into the forest and don't stop running."

"What are you going to do?" he asked. Angel quickly drew her sword, the engine noise now almost upon them.

"I'll keep him busy while you get out of here," said Angel.

"You do know you won't win, right?" asked Metal Sonic.

"I've fought him before in my own timeline. He doesn't know that so that should give me a little bit of an advantage. I'm pretty sure I can stand up to him for a while, at least long enough for you to get out of here," said Angel. She then pointed into the forest. "Go!" Metal Sonic hesitated for a couple of seconds, then took off into the woods. Angel watched him leave for a few seconds before turning back towards the river. A couple more seconds ticked by before something crimson red flew out and over the lake, coming to hover over the middle of it.

"You!" shouted Robo Knuckles, spotting Angel waiting for him on the shoreline. "I should've known you were the one they were traveling with!" With that, he then flew down to within twenty yards of where Angel was standing, landing with a small thud as he cut out his engine.

"Well, I didn't expect to run into you again so soon," said Angel, setting into a defensive stance with her sword.

"Neither did I, to be honest," said Robo Knuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now do tell me. Where are my dear brother and sister at?"

"Who are your brother and sister?" asked Angel. Robo Knuckles merely smiled at this answer.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you've been traveling with both Metal Sonic and Mira since you threw that rock up my exhaust. Which, by the way, I'm still angry about," said Robo Knuckles.

"What makes you think I'd want to travel with a couple of mecha bots?" asked Angel.

"Don't lie to me. I found the remains of your little campsite back where I detected Mira's emerald shard being used. I figured whoever was traveling with them would stick close to the river, and who do I find at the end of it but you," said Robo Knuckles. "You won't convince me they aren't around here somewhere."

"Okay. I can see bluffing you isn't going to work," said Angel, dropping her bluff.

"Indeed. Maybe if you tell me where they ran off to I'll forget about finding you this one time," said Robo Knuckles.

"Like I'd believe you'd let me go after what I did to you," said Angel.

"I can see you're not easily fooled," said Robo Knuckles as he brandished his dagger claws. "Very well. I'll deal with you first and then hunt the nearby areas for the other two. They can't have gotten far from here on foot."

"You so sure you'll beat me?" asked Angel, giving a small smirk.

"I'll end it in five seconds," said Robo Knuckles. He then crouched down slowly, then suddenly shot from his spot as his engine fired. As soon as he closed the gap between them, he stabbed at her with his left set of claws, Angel blocking the blow with her sword. The force of the hit nearly knocked her to the ground, but she held firm. Robo Knuckles then swung his other set of claws towards her from the side, but Angel spun out of the way, disengaging her sword from his other set of claws and letting the mecha bot fly past her as his engine flared behind him. He flew a good thirty yards away from her before turning himself back around to come to a hover a few feet in the air. "Not bad. Seems you can hold your own. That is, at least when I'm not really trying."

"It's been five seconds and I'm still standing, RK,' said Angel, trying to put as much confidence into her voice as she could. However, she could feel beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead as she realized that as long as Robo Knuckles used his engine she wouldn't be able to keep up with him if he were to get serious. This first attack proved that to her since it had taken all she had not to be knocked over from the force of the collision between her weapon and the mecha bot's claws as well as barely managing to dodge out of the way of the second swing at her. _There has to be some way to disable his engine, but I would need a solid shot at it and there's no way he's going to give me that kind of attack vantage, _thought Angel. Then something that Metal Sonic had said the other day gave her an idea._ Yep. It's my best shot._

"All that means is that I'm going to have a lot more fun toying with you than I had originally thought," said Robo Knuckles. However, Angel only smirked at this comment, causing Robo Knuckles to frown in confusion as to why she would find it amusing.

"For someone who's supposed to be better than Metal Sonic, you sure do have to fight the same way he does to win," said Angel.

"I _am _better than him!" shouted Robo Knuckles, his neon green eyes flashing brightly in anger.

"Please. You have to use your engine to win a fight, same as him. If you were truly better than he is, you could beat me without having to resort to his cheapest trick to win," said Angel. Without missing a beat, Robo Knuckles cut the power to his engine, dropping to the ground with a small thud.

"You're right. I don't need to use my engine to beat a worthless piece of trash like you. It'll be much more satisfying to kill you slow and painfully anyways," he said. Angel's smirk only grew after seeing her ploy work. _Just like in my timeline. He can't stand being seen as being on the same level as Mecha. He has to prove to himself that he's better,_ thought Angel, her hopes that she might actually win the fight being lifted significantly by this turn of fortune.

"So. My turn to attack?" she asked him, setting herself into an offensive stance.

"Be my guest," said Robo Knuckles confidently as he flashed his dagger claws, taking up his own stance. Angel then shot from her spot in a fast charge at the robotic echidna, bringing her sword forward in an attack swing at Robo Knuckles' midsection, which was met with the mecha bot's left set of claws. She then swung her blade at his head from the other side as fast as she could bring it to bear, but this attack was blocked by the other set of claws.

Robo Knuckles then went on the offensive, slashing at Angel with his left claws, just missing her as she spun to the right, the claws passing by her as she swung her sword around for another attack, this time aiming for his legs. But Robo Knuckles saw the attack and jumped above the swing, pulling his right arm back and stabbing at her with his right set of claws. However, he was too high in the air and Angel ducked the attack, then gave a high sideways kick that caught the mecha bot in the stomach, knocking him a few yards backwards and to the ground.

Not letting up on her attack, she pulled her sword back to her body before stabbing out with it repeatedly at Robo Knuckles, the mecha bot quickly leaping to his feet as he started to dodge each attack as best he could. However, he wasn't fast enough to dodge them all as the seventh stab caught him with a glancing blow to his upper right shoulder, shredding a small gash in his metallic hide. Realizing that he couldn't keep dodging her at such a close range, he leapt backwards fifteen yards, putting distance between the two of them as Angel let up on her attack, resetting her stance into a more defensive one.

"Seems you aren't any better than Mecha at dodging someone in close range," said Angel, a smile plastered on her face after seeing she was the one to cause damage first. She expected Robo Knuckles to be ready to instantly strike back, but instead he stood there. She then noticed that instead of seething with anger, he was instead chuckling to himself. "What's so funny?" At this, Robo Knuckles burst out laughing, causing Angel to get nervous as to why he would laugh about getting hurt.

"Oh this is rich!" said Robo Knuckles. "To think I would actually find someone who could fight as well as you can. This is a rare treat indeed."

"What do you mean, 'rare treat'?" asked Angel.

"Meaning I don't have to hold back against you. I can fight without restraint, and that's something I've yet to be able to do," said Robo Knuckles. "So prepare yourself, little echidna, cause the real fight starts now!" With that, he started to charge Angel, who gripped her sword tighter, now knowing that the real challenge was about to start. As Robo Knuckles closed the gap between them, he started slashing at her with both sets of claws, causing Angel to have to rapidly block them to the best of her ability.

As each slash was blocked, she barely had time to bring her weapon in line to block the next attack, each one causing her to take a step backwards just to allow enough lag time between attacks to be able to bring her weapon to bear. _Not good. He's taking this seriously now. I thought I'd have more time before he'd get serious,_ thought Angel as she blocked another strong stab at her from the mecha bot. This time, however, she pushed back as hard as she could against the set of claws, throwing Robo Knuckles momentum off as he was almost pushed backwards off his feet from the force Angel used. But he caught himself at the last second, planting his feet firm into the ground as he began to push back.

"Not bad, echidna," said Robo Knuckles as he brought up his other arm and interlocked his other set of claws with Angel's sword. He then gave a hard shove of his own, this time throwing Angel off balance as she was knocked away. He then slashed at her with his right set of claws. Angel tried to spin out of the way as best she could while off balance, but was unable to fully avoid the claws as they clipped her in the left arm, cutting a small gash in her upper arm as she let a cry of pain fly from her mouth at the sudden shock of the feeling that now raced up and down her arm.

However, she held firm and despite the pain swung her right leg around, catching the mecha bot in the side with a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking the robotic echidna over. But Robo Knuckles used the falling motion to flip onto his hands, then backflip into a crouched position. He then fired his engine, shooting forward at Angel who had just barely managed to get back to facing towards the mecha bot. Robo Knuckles then slammed headfirst into Angel's forehead, knocking the echidna girl back over twenty feet and to the ground from the force of the blow, the mecha bot landing as he cut his engine. He then started to walk towards her as she lay sprawled out on the ground, her sword having been dropped off to the side after she had taken the blow.

"Cheap…shot…" was all Angel could spit out as she tried to get back to her feet. But the blow had stunned her quite well. It was all she could do to get into a sitting position as her head felt like it had gotten hit with a lead brick.

"True, that was dirty," said Robo Knuckles as he walked up to where Angel's sword lay on the ground. "But then again, I'm not above fighting dirty." He then picked up the blade from its resting place. "Besides, this is the only reason you've managed to last this long against me. I wonder just how long you can last without your precious sword." He then turned towards the lake and chucked the sword over fifty yards out into the lake. "And now to kill you as painfully as I can."

Realizing that now she had no way to defend herself against him if he were to start attacking, she knew that the only choice left was to attack him head on and never let up on that attack. Mustering all her willpower, she stood back up despite the pain in her head. Without hesitation, she then charged the crimson mecha bot. Robo Knuckles set himself into a defensive stance as Angel reached him, throwing a right hook at his face. He dodged the swing, then stabbed at her with his left claws. But Angel reached over the claws and grabbed him by the left arm, stopping the stab midway through its lunge.

She then yanked hard, pulling the mecha bot off his feet and towards her. She then connected with a solid uppercut, knocking Robo Knuckles off his feet and to the ground. She then grabbed him by the right foot and pulled hard, swinging him over her head and slamming him face first into the ground. She started to pull back to whip him around again, but as Robo Knuckles cleared the ground, he fired his engine, yanking free of Angel's grasp. As he flew out over the lake, he turned back around and came to a hover a good thirty feet from the shoreline. His eyes were now flashing brightly in anger, his nose now bent out of shape from the collision with the ground.

"That's it! I've had enough of this fight!" he shouted, firing his engine full blast as he shot towards Angel, intent on killing her with this attack. Angel realized all too late that she couldn't dodge him at such a close range. And without her weapon to block the attack, he would gut her for sure this time. But as soon as Robo Knuckles cleared the water, what looked like a bolt of lightning burst forth from the forest, connecting with the mecha bot and blowing him away from Angel. He hit the ground hard, rolling several yards head over heels before coming to a stop in a heap forty yards away from Angel. _What the heck was that!?_ she thought to herself, looking back in the direction the bolt of energy had come from.

"You put up a better fight than I would've given you credit for," said Metal Sonic, standing at the edge of the forest in the same area the energy bolt had come from.

"That was you!?" she asked, astonished at what had just happened. Then another thought crossed her mind. "What are you doing here? I told you to get out of here."

"And have him just come after me after he killed you. No. I decided I'd rather stand and fight than run," said Metal Sonic. An angry cry caused them both to look back over at Robo Knuckles, who was struggling to get back to his feet after getting hit head on by the blast of energy. A small hole had been blown out of his upper left chest, sparks and smoke issuing forth from the hole. While the damage looked substantial, the fact that Robo Knuckles was getting back to his feet meant that it still wasn't enough to take him out.

"I should've guessed you were lurking about somewhere near here, Metal Sonic," hissed Robo Knuckles as he finally got back to his feet. "You're more trouble than I bargained for. Both of you are." He then tried to fire his engine, but it sputtered and died right after starting. Robo Knuckles clenched his fists together and gritted his teeth. "You ruined my engine! Again!"

"Serves you right," spat Angel.

"I'll kill you both! And then I'll hunt down that last insignificant worm Mira and have her head as well!" shouted Robo Knuckles.

"Can you do that energy blast again?" asked Angel in a whisper to Metal Sonic.

"Sorry. It's a one off. My tesla coil can only produce a blast like that once per day," answered Metal Sonic.

"Then we'll have to do this the old fashion way," said Angel.

"Whisper all you want," said Robo Knuckles as he started walking towards them. "It'll mean nothing in the end." With that, he started running at them, both Angel and Metal Sonic jumping apart from each other to present two different targets for the crimson robot to track. Robo Knuckles went after Angel first, swinging his left claws at her, only to have her duck the attack. He was then struck from behind by Metal Sonic's fist striking him in the back. Giving an angry cry, Robo Knuckles spun around, slashing at Metal Sonic with his other set of claws. But Metal Sonic jumped backwards out of the way. This time, Angel struck home as she connected with a kick to Robo Knuckles' side, knocking the mecha bot to the ground.

"Enough of this!" shouted Robo Knuckles, getting to his knees and pointing his left arm at Angel's legs. A small compartment opened on top of his lower arm, a small blaster cannon extending out of it. Before Angel could tell what was going on, Robo Knuckles fired the blaster, catching her in the left leg as she cried out in pain, falling over to the ground as the pain was too intense to continue standing. Robo Knuckles then got to his feet, turning and catching Metal Sonic's clawed hand in his own as the blue mecha bot tried to attack him again.

"Too slow," was all Robo Knuckles said before pulling hard on Metal Sonic's arm, yanking him towards the robotic echidna. Robo Knuckles then stabbed at Metal Sonic with his other arm, jamming his claws deep into Metal Sonic's stomach right below where his engine intake was located. Metal Sonic remained silent as he froze. Robo Knuckles then withdrew his dagger claws before gripping Metal Sonic's left arm with both hands. He then flung him as hard as he could towards one of the trees nearest to where he was standing. The blue mecha bot slammed back first into the tree, sliding down to come to rest at its base, sparks and smoke now also issuing forth from his wound. Robo Knuckles then turned back towards Angel who was lying on the ground, holding her leg in pain where the laser shot had hit.

"You die first," said Robo Knuckles as he walked up next to her. "After all, you put up the better fight out of the two of you. It's only fitting." Angel tried to get back up to her feet, but the pain in her leg was too great to even move it at the moment.

"Then do it fast," was all she said. Robo Knuckles smirked as he brought his left arm back, dagger claws aimed right at her head. Suddenly, a loud bang sounded from behind Robo Knuckles, who turned around just in time to get plowed over by Metal Sonic, his engine flaring at full power as the robotic hedgehog slammed head first into Robo Knuckles, knocking him away from Angel as the two of them tumbled to the ground, Metal Sonic's engine sputtering and dying as they came to a stop. Metal Sonic ended up on top, his hands interlocked with Robo Knuckles' as each tried to overpower the other one.

"Determined…to die…first?" asked Robo Knuckles as he pushed back against Metal Sonic's arms with his own.

"You're…the only one…dying today…" said Metal Sonic as he strained to keep Robo Knuckles pinned. Robo Knuckles only smiled as he opened up the compartment that contained the laser cannon again. He then shifted his direction of strength from straight up and instead forced Metal Sonic's arm to go to the side, bringing the cannon in line with side of the blue mecha bot's head.

"Die!" shouted Robo Knuckles as he fired the blaster, the bolt piercing through the upper right side of Metal Sonic's head as a chunk was blown off, the blue mecha bot going limp as the hole smoldered. Robo Knuckles then flung him off and to the ground in a heap.

"No, Mecha!" cried Angel as she saw the robotic hedgehog lying on the ground. She tried to stand up again, but her leg couldn't hold her weight with its injury and she fell back into a sitting position. Robo Knuckles then flipped back onto his feet, watching Metal Sonic for a few seconds to see if he was still active. But after ten seconds ticked by, he determined Metal Sonic was no longer a threat. He then turned towards Angel, a smile set on his face.

"And so the first of the three falls," he sneered as he began walking towards where Angel was sitting helpless on the ground. "Now it's time to take care of the second nuisance." As he reached Angel's spot, his grin grew. Angel only shut her eyes tight in response to the mecha bot raising his left arm back to deliver the death blow. "Say goodnight, sweet echidna!" he hollered as he started to swing at her with his left set of claws. But before he was even halfway through the motion, a powerful blast of wind blew him from his spot and sent him sprawling to the ground several yards away. Angel opened her eyes as she felt the gust of wind pass by her, first looking over at the fallen form of Robo Knuckles, then looking back out at the lake where Mira now hovered over the lake as if by thin air about ten yards off the shoreline, the shard of the Master Emerald glowing brightly in her forehead, her face set in anger.

"Enough!" shouted Mira as Robo Knuckles got to his knees and spotted the girl mecha bot hovering above the lake.

"So, the third one shows herself," said Robo Knuckles as he got back to his feet.

"I won't allow this carnage to continue anymore!" she yelled at him. The water in the lake, once as flat as the surface of a mirror, was now choppy and active, the wind whipping about at high speeds around Mira as if a twister had dropped right on top of her head.

"And what makes you think you can stop me from killing the three of you?" asked Robo Knuckles.

"I will because I must," was all Mira said as she thrust her left arm out towards Robo Knuckles. A second blast of wind blew Robo Knuckles from his spot, sending him crashing to the ground a second time in a heap. Mira then threw both arms up in the air, a giant pillar of water rising out of the lake on her right side. Robo Knuckles looked up from his spot on the ground just in time to see Mira throw both arms out in his direction, the pillar rising out of the lake and flying towards him at a high speed.

Knowing he wouldn't get to his feet in time, he got into a kneeling position and threw both arms up in a shielding motion as the pillar of water slammed into him, knocking him backwards into the trunk of one of the trees at the edge of the forest. The water continued to press into him, keeping him pinned till the water was finally used up. A good sized dent from where the force of the water had hit him was now set in his chest area, the attempt to block the water with his arms being futile.

Robo Knuckles quickly flipped back to his feet. He then aimed the blaster cannon at Mira, firing off three blasts at her. But Mira simply threw up her arms again, a wave of water rising up in front of her to block the beams of energy as they splashed harmlessly off the water shield. Realizing that he had no other way to attack Mira while she was out over the water, plus the fact that she was free to attack him at will, he cried out in frustration before turning and running back into the forest trying to flee from the fight.

"I won't let you get away only to have you come after us again!" shouted Mira as she gathered a small globe of water and took off after him, flying up above the tree line of the forest as she chased after the crimson mecha bot. Spotting him as he ran out into a clearing, she thrust her left arm out at him again, sending another strong gust of wind flying into him, knocking him into one of the boulders that dotted the clearing. She then came to a hover of the middle of the clearing, keeping her arm flung outwards. This time, the wind kept blowing as it pinned Robo Knuckles to the boulder, the robotic echidna looking back up at her from his position on the ground. At this point, all sense of self composure was gone. He was scared of Mira and his facial expression matched that fear.

"Please…I'm your brother…" he begged, realizing now that Mira wasn't just trying to drive him off, but instead kill him. Mira stared back at him, her face still one of complete anger.

"You're no brother of mine…" was all she said before she ran her right hand around the blob of water she had brought with her, the water becoming cone shaped before freezing into a shard of ice. She then flung her right hand out, the shard of ice flying forth from its hovering position next to her. Robo Knuckles tried to say something, but his fear had caused him to lose his voice. Then the shard of ice speared him directly through the middle of his head, shredding a giant hole through it. He then went limp as his systems lost power. Mira watched him for any signs of life for several seconds. Realizing that she had indeed killed him, her anger became replaced with remorse, her face reflecting the feeling. Turning back towards the lake, she flew back to where Angel was seated, landing next to her as the glow from the emerald shard faded.

"Did you…?" asked Angel, unable to finish when she saw the face Mira now displayed. Mira nodded in response, looking back towards the forest.

"Yes. It was regrettable, but he's been destroyed," said Mira. She then noticed Metal Sonic lying further down the shoreline. Running over to his side, she turned him face-up, examining the damage Robo Knuckles had inflicted.

"Is he gone too?" asked Angel. Mira continued examining him for a few more seconds before she brightened up somewhat.

"No, thank goodness. He's sustained a good deal of damage, but his AI matrix is still fully functioning. The blast missed it. It just knocked out his main power circuits. Give me a minute and I should be able to reroute his backup power from his tesla coil and get him back on his feet," said Mira as she popped open a panel on the back of Metal Sonic's head. She then started fiddling with the wiring behind the panel, trying to override his power supply. As she worked on Metal Sonic, Angel tried once again to stand back up. This time, she succeeded in getting to her feet, although the pain nearly paralyzed her leg to the point of collapsing again. But she fought down the pain and started carefully walking towards the two mecha bots, each step making her injured leg feel like it was on fire. As she got up beside them, she dropped to a sitting position again, the pain finally being too much to handle.

"Thanks for saving us," said Angel, her gaze catching Mira's. However, Mira didn't break her eyes off their current task.

"I had to do it. I couldn't let him kill the only two people I care about," said Mira, finishing her rewiring job. She then closed the panel, flipped him onto his back, and reached into the hole left over by the laser blast, grabbing ahold of one of the damaged circuits. "Okay. In theory, once I take out the damaged chip, he should power back on."

"In theory?" asked Angel. Mira looked over at her with a sheepish grin.

"Well, I've never actually done this before. But his schematics are in my memory banks, so I think I did it right," answered Mira.

"Well, let's give it a try," said Angel. Mira nodded, then pulled the damaged chip from its housing. Several seconds ticked by, Mira beginning to worry she hadn't done it right. Or worse yet, he was damaged more than she had thought and even rerouting his power wouldn't reactivate him. But finally, Angel noticed Metal Sonic's left hand move slightly, pointing it out to Mira who looked overjoyed as the hand curled into a fist. Then his eyes winked back on, his other hand coming up to his forehead.

"What happened?" asked Metal Sonic, looking up at the two girls. "Last thing I remember is getting him off you and then…" He then shot upright, looking around the immediate area. "Where is he!?"

"It's okay," said Angel, catching his attention. "Mira stopped him."

"Mira did? But how?" asked Metal Sonic, not believing the pink furred echidna.

"Seems your little sister packs quite a punch for such a nice girl," said Angel, a smile forming on her face.

"Well, yeah. But I never would've guessed that she would willingly attack him," said Metal Sonic as he got to his feet, Mira following him.

"He left me no choice," said Mira, her joy turning back to sorrow, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I didn't want to kill him, but I had to do it…"

"It's alright," said Angel, placing a hand on her leg. "You did what you had to do. There's nothing wrong with protecting those you care about."

"Still, I wish it hadn't come to that," said Mira, wiping the tears from her eyes. She then eyed Angel's injured leg, kneeling down to get a better look at it. "We should get you to a doctor."

"And I need to get repairs done. Thankfully he didn't damage my engine, so once I get some fuel in me I can go back to a base and repair myself," said Metal Sonic.

"Which reminds me. How did you use your engine to get him off me if you had no fuel in your system?" asked Angel.

"I had enough for one short burst. I was saving it for an emergency," he answered.

"Well, thanks for using it to save me. You know, you've really surprised me these last couple of days. I never would've pegged you as someone who would risk their own neck to save someone else," said Angel.

"It's not exactly something I have had a lot of practice at being," said Metal Sonic.

"But as far as you going back to a base, are you sure that's a wise idea? You'll probably be captured," said Angel.

"I doubt Eggman will have changed the passcodes I possess to get into one of his northern continent bases. More than likely he'll have assumed me destroyed by the time he would find out," said Metal Sonic. He then tilted his head to the side slightly as something passed through his mind. "Actually, I need to make sure he doesn't come looking for me or Mira. And I have an idea, but I need to get in touch with Knothole first."

"Why get in touch with Knothole?" asked Angel.

"I don't wish to be bothered by them should they ever run into me. Bad blood from the last year and a half will mean that they'll probably let the hedgehog know where I am at, and I don't wish to engage him before I'm ready. I know at the moment I am not prepared to fight him, but if given enough time I will come up with a solution on how to beat him. So in the meantime, I want to form a truce with them. Not with the hedgehog. I see him, he's fair game, but I want to have a truce with the princess and her followers."

"What makes you think they'll even listen to you?" asked Mira.

"I have uncovered something that they would see as invaluable to them," said Metal Sonic.

"Well, I owe you one for saving me back there. Go get my backpack for me please," said Angel. Mira stood back up and walked over to where the pack was lying up against one of the many rocks that dotted the shoreline of the lake. Bring it back over to the echidna, she set it down next to her. Angel then unzipped one of the side pockets, pulling out a small disc shaped object. Holding it in her right palm, she then pushed the four buttons on the side of the disc in a certain order. The device then sprang to life as it started emitting a small holo projection of a menu screen. She then pointed her left index finger at one of the options on the menu.

* * *

Sally sat in her own hut, going over her options on how to deal with the robians guarding the factories in Robotropolis for what seemed like the millionth time. Every scenario she had run through Nicole always ended up with some kind of collateral damage to the robians. She rubbed her tired eyes as she closed Nicole, deciding that she had spent enough of the day trying to figure out a solution to their problem. As she took off her boots, Nicole started beeping rapidly.

_"Incoming transmission Sally,"_ chimed the small computer. Frowning as she looked up from taking off her second boot, she got back to her feet and started walking towards where Nicole lay sitting on her desk.

"Who's transmitting?" asked Sally. She hadn't scheduled a Freedom Fighter meeting with anyone and there weren't many people outside of that who knew how to contact Nicole directly.

_"Transmission signal matches that of the holo projection device given to Angel Starfire. Shall I accept the transmission?"_ asked Nicole.

"Now why would she call after three months of not contacting us?" asked Sally to herself. She then sat back down at the desk and opened up Nicole. "Yes. Accept the transmission."

_"Acknowledged,"_ said Nicole. Her holo projector then lit up as the familiar face of Angel started to be displayed over the small computer.

"Hi Sally! Long time no see," said Angel. Sally couldn't help but smile at seeing the echidna. She hadn't gotten to know Angel very well since the echidna had left their village almost immediately after getting back on her feet, but she had learned enough from hearing about her from Sonic to know she had a good heart and a smart head.

"Hey. So what made you decide to give us a ring?" asked Sally. Here, Sally noticed that Angel's happy demeanor changed to a more nervous look, which made her get suspicious that something was going on that she wasn't aware of.

"Well, first off is Sonic anywhere nearby?" asked Angel.

"No. He's actually not even in Knothole at the moment. He's at one of our other Freedom Fighter outposts trying to come up with a solution to a problem we ran into last week. Why? Did you want to talk to him?" she asked.

"No. Actually, it's a good thing he isn't around cause I know it would be a problem for what I'm about to ask you to do," said Angel. Sally noticed that Angel's nervous look was growing even more so after this last comment.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Sally.

"I have someone here with me. Someone you know very well. All I ask is that you listen to what he has to say," said Angel.

"And who is with you?" asked Sally. The view that Nicole was showing suddenly started moving away from Angel, turning to the left till another figure came into view. And at this Sally shot up out of her chair. "Mecha!"

"Greetings, Princess Sally," said Metal Sonic, giving a small bow.

"Why are you with Angel? You haven't hurt her have you?" asked Sally.

"I have not. Nor do I plan on it," said Metal Sonic. Sally breathed a small sigh of relief at hearing this. Realizing she had jumped to her feet, she pulled the chair back to the desk and sat back down.

"Okay. Then why do I have the pleasure of talking to you in the first place?" asked Sally.

"Your friend and I crossed paths a couple of days ago. As of the last ten minutes, we just survived being killed by mecha bot four," said Metal Sonic.

"That's the one that looks like Knuckles, right?" asked Sally. Sonic had told her of the other mecha bots that they had run into in Angel's timeline, and they had come to the conclusion that the one known as Robo Knuckles probably had been built in this timeline as well. This only served to confirm their guess.

"That's correct. He has been destroyed by my sister, mecha bot six, or Mira as she is called by name," said Metal Sonic.

"You created another mecha bot?" asked Sally, unsettled by the news that there might be another killer robot out to get them.

"Yes, but she is docile compared to me or my brother. However, that is not the reason I have contacted you," said Metal Sonic.

"Yes. Why have gone to all the trouble to contact me? And why did Angel agree to helping you do this?" asked Sally.

"I owed him for saving my life," said Angel's voice off camera.

"Really? I never would've expected you to do something like that," said Sally.

"I've had a change of heart these last couple of days," said Metal Sonic. Then as an afterthought he added, "Well, at least as far as following Dr. Eggman goes. I still want to crush that hedgehog, but not at the moment. I am not ready to fight him again so soon.

"I see. Which explains why it's a good thing he's not around," said Sally.

"Yes. I doubt he would even entertain listening to what I have to say. Now then, I wish to form a truce with you and your Freedom Fighters. Here is my proposal," said Metal Sonic.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"So we agree to the terms then?" asked Metal Sonic to Sally over the holocommunicator he held in his right hand.

"Of course. What you'll be giving us in exchange for your privacy is something far greater than what it's worth. Just so long as you're sure you can pull all of this off," said Sally's holographic image.

"I'm doing this more for myself than I am for you, but as far as being able to pull this off, as long as Eggman didn't change any of his passcodes since I went rogue, it shouldn't be a problem," said Metal Sonic.

"You don't think he would've done that?" asked Angel, interrupting their conversation for the first time since the two had started discussing the agreement. The pain in her leg had dulled enough that it didn't hurt unless she actually tried to move it around, but she knew she'd need to treat the burns soon before they became a bigger problem.

"I doubt it. Normally he keeps a high level of security at all his bases just in case someone tries to break in, but so long as Robo Knuckles doesn't show back up he'll think he's still tailing me and Mira, which means he probably won't bother changing the passcodes that I possess," answered Metal Sonic.

"So what kind of time frame are we looking at? I can tell just by looking at you that you're going to need repairs before you start trying to do all of this," said Sally.

"True, but if I can get access to one of Eggman's bases, the machines there can perform the repairs necessary without arousing suspicion. My guess is the damage will take a week to fix, and another two weeks to complete the rest of my mission and arrive to meet you. I will send you a signal one hour before the final phase of my plan starts so you can get into position at the edge of the Great Forest to meet up with me. I could do this faster than two weeks, but if I were to go non-stop, he might catch on that it was me. My hope is that he'll suspect it's the hedgehog doing all the damage," said Metal Sonic.

"I can see why Sonic would be the one he'd point the finger at first. He's the only one of us that's managed to do something like that all by himself," said Sally.

"He has?" asked Mira, not quite believing that a single mobian could do so much damage alone.

"I've seen him do it myself when he attacked Leviathan's main base," said Angel, looking up at Mira.

"He must really be something to do that," said Mira.

"An annoyance is more like it," said Metal Sonic, returning his attention to Sally's image.

"I will warn you, Mecha. Sonic will probably want to be there whenever you show up," said Sally.

"She has a point," said Angel, catching Metal Sonic's attention. "Will you promise me that you won't cause a problem if he is there?" At this, Metal Sonic hesitated. It was one thing to do all the stuff he was doing to cause a problem for Eggman, but he had never held himself in check when it came to dealing with Sonic. Angel realized Metal Sonic was struggling to answer, though she couldn't blame him. He had never held anything but aggression towards Sonic. "Please…do it for me. For a friend."

"What did you just say?" asked Metal Sonic, the statement said by Angel breaking his hesitation, not sure he had just heard what he thought his audio sensors had heard.

"I think you know what you heard. And after all we've been through these last few days, getting to know the real you, I meant what I said," said Angel, giving him a smile. Metal Sonic stood stunned for a few seconds before giving a nod of his head in acknowledgement. He then turned his head back to Sally's image.

"For Angel, I promise to not cause a problem if the hedgehog is there to meet me," said Metal Sonic.

"Thank you," said Angel.

"Yes. Thank you for doing that. I can't promise that Sonic will keep himself in check, but I will try my best to curb his issues with you when we meet," said Sally.

"That is all I ask if he does go with you to meet me," said Metal Sonic.

"Okay. I guess we'll see you in about three weeks then. Good luck in your mission," said Sally's image before she cut the transmission, the holocommunicator powering down.

"Thanks for letting me use this," said Metal Sonic, handing the device back to Angel, who took it and put it back into her backpack.

"It was the least I could do," said Angel.

"So what happens now?" asked Mira.

"Well, we need to get to the next town and get Angel to a doctor. Someone needs to treat the laser burns," said Metal Sonic, looking over at Mira.

"I agree," said Mira.

"Well, getting me there should be easy since Mira can just fly me there," said Angel. Metal Sonic looked back at Angel with a disbelieving look.

"Fly? She never showed that ability before," he said.

"I did," said Mira, catching his attention. "I just thought about flying and next thing I knew I was."

"And it never occurred to you to try and do that before?" asked Metal Sonic.

"Nope," said Mira.

"I told you chaos energy was unpredictable," said Angel.

"I guess so," said Metal Sonic. "Well, I guess then you should fly Angel to the next town. I'll walk there and meet up with you tomorrow to refuel before I head towards Eggman's nearest base."

"Sounds like a plan," said Mira.

"Before we go, I'd like to know what you guys plan to do with Robo Knuckles. We can't just leave him there for someone to stumble across him. Last thing we need is someone trying to repair him and succeeding," said Angel.

"Good point," said Metal Sonic, lowering his head in thought. After a few seconds, he looked back up at Mira. "Fly him out over the middle of the lake and drop him in. I doubt anyone will find him at the bottom of the lake."

"If that's what must be done, then so be it," said Mira, walking off into the forest in the direction of where Robo Knuckles was at.

"He won't pollute the water or anything will he," asked Angel.

"No. His power is purely electrical. There is no fuel to leak out or anything like that. Worst thing that'll happen is he'll start rusting after a few months," said Metal Sonic.

"Okay. Just making sure there wouldn't be a problem from dumping him in the lake," said Angel. Barely a minute passed before they saw Mira come flying out over the edge of the forest, Robo Knuckles' lifeless body in tow. Coming to a hover over the center of the lake, she hesitated for a few seconds, then let go of his body. A loud splash erupted from the point of impact as the mecha bot started his long descent to the floor of the lake. Mira then flew back to the shore of the lake, landing next to her two companions.

"The deed is done," said Mira, looking a little bit sad.

"I know it was hard, but it had to be done," said Angel.

"I know. Doesn't make it any easier though," said Mira.

"Now that that's taken care of, you two should be off so Angel can get treated," said Metal Sonic.

"Okay," said Mira, walking up next to Angel before bending down and scooping her up carefully into her arms. "I'll try not to cause you any pain."

"I know you will," said Angel. She then turned towards Metal Sonic. "Well then, Mecha. Guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Count on it," said Metal Sonic. Mira then slowly lifted off the ground, coming to a hover above the tree line.

"So which way were we traveling before?" she asked Angel, who pointed to the southeast. "That's right. Hang on tight." Mira then took off at over fifty miles per hour towards the southeast.

* * *

Three weeks later, Dr. Eggman was pacing anxiously about the control room of the Command Center in Robotropolis as he waited on Snively to return to report the status of his last remaining main base on the northern continent aside from Robotropolis. Mere anger had turned to frustration and then to fear as every couple of days for the last two weeks one of his main bases had been destroyed without any signs of the culprit. After the first one had fallen, he had chalked it up to one of the Freedom Fighter groups getting lucky, but after the second one had fallen only two days later and this one was more than a hundred miles apart from the first one, he knew that Sonic had to be the one behind it. Now, with only one base remaining, he had grown nervous that maybe Sonic had snapped seeing as he had never been this aggressive in the past. Suddenly, the main turbo lift leading into the control room opened up.

"Sir, I have bad news," said Snively as he exited the lift.

"It's gone, isn't it?" asked Eggman.

"Yes sir. And still no trace of whoever was behind it or how they did it," he answered.

"How is Sonic doing this Snively?" asked Eggman angrily, slamming his fist down on one of the consoles. He then gathered himself before walking over to his command chair and sitting down. "In the past, there was always some way to tell how he was able to do it, but now he's taken out all my northern bases without leaving so much as a trace to follow as to how he's doing this. "

"Sir. There's another problem I think you should know about," said Snively, looking nervous as he prepared to tell the doctor the rest of the bad news he came to deliver.

"And that would be what?" asked Eggman, giving him a cold stare.

"The robians. They've started to abandon their posts. I saw several dozen of them leaving the factories they were stationed in as I was flying in overhead," said Snively.

"They're _what_!?" shouted Eggman, jumping up out of his chair and running over to the monitors that lined the walls. He then brought up images of all the factories in the city, each one now abandoned by both the robians and the Swatbots that normally patrolled them. The sound of the turbo lift went unnoticed by Eggman as he stared in disbelief of what he was seeing.

"Where are they going? And where are all the Swatbots?" asked Eggman.

"Sir…I think you should turn back around," said Snively, his voice now full of worry.

"Why?" asked Eggman as he turned back around, coming face to face with the last person he expected to see.

"Hello Eggman," said Metal Sonic, his body full repaired and looking as polished as the day he was brought online. Without hesitating, he walked past both Snively and Eggman before stepping up to the main console. He then began to type away at the keyboard.

"You…I thought for sure you're traitorous hide was still running from mecha bot four. And what are you doing," said Eggman.

"Sorry to say that he was destroyed three weeks ago. As for what I'm doing, we'll get to that in a second," said Metal Sonic, not looking up from his task.

"So he was a failure after all," said Eggman, looking over at Snively with an annoyed stare, who shied away from the glare. "So why did you come back here anyways if you wanted nothing to do with me?"

"Think about it long and hard," said Metal Sonic, finally looking away from the console as he paused what he was doing. "Three weeks ago, I was free to do whatever I wanted. In the last three weeks, what has happened?" It took Eggman exactly 1.35 seconds to have the light bulb go off in his head.

"You!" he shouted, his earlier rage now focused entirely on the blue mecha bot. "It was _you_ that destroyed all my northern bases, not that hedgehog!"

"That's right. It was meant to give you no way to track me down or keep tabs on my activities as long as I stay on the northern continent," said Metal Sonic. He then returned to typing away at the keyboard.

"I'll dismantle and make a toaster out of you!" cried Eggman. At this, Metal Sonic finally finished what he was doing, turning away from the console and looking up at Eggman.

"You're welcome to try, but I think you've got a bigger problem to worry about," said Metal Sonic, his clawed finger hovering over one specific key on the keyboard.

"And what would that be?" asked Eggman, stepping up to tower over the smaller robot.

"This," said Metal Sonic, hitting the final key with his finger. Suddenly, alarms started sounding throughout the Command Center as the computer monitors all went black. Then the largest monitor in the middle of the central wall lit back up with a timer set at ten minutes on it. Immediately, the timer started counting down to zero.

"What did you do?" asked Eggman over the noise of the alarms.

"Activated the Command Center's self-destruct," said Metal Sonic.

"Rather foolish of you to do that. I can easily disarm it," said Eggman, shoving Metal Sonic out of the way. He then began to type at away at the console, but as the minutes ticked, by nothing happened and the timer continued its countdown.

"Try all you like, but I locked you out of the system," said Metal Sonic after four minutes of the timer had passed.

"Why you little wind-up toy! I'll smelt you down and make a paperweight out of you!" shouted Eggman.

"Make your empty threats. You're last bastion of power in the north is about to crumble. Since you slaved all the factory computers to the Command Center's central computer, once it blows, all your factories shut down permanently. And since I commanded the Swatbots to all gather on the first two floors of the building, you won't have the time to issue a new command to get them out, thereby wiping them out as well," said Metal Sonic.

"I'm guessing you're also the reason the robians abandoned their posts. Where are they going?" asked Eggman.

"I am returning them to where they belong. The princess will decide what to do with them from here on out," said Metal Sonic. By now, the timer had reached the five minute mark. "I suggest you leave now, before you run out of time." Eggman tried to throw another insult at the mecha bot, but even he had finally realized that he had no way out of the situation. Robotropolis was lost.

"Very well. Enjoy your little victory while you can. I have bigger plans than ruling just the northern continent anyways. I still have my Egg Fleet already under construction in the south, and once it's complete, I'll use it to create the Eggman Empire to rule this planet. And then, I promise you, I will hunt you down and make you pay for ever crossing me," said Eggman. He then turned and started walking towards the turbo lift, Snively turning to follow him as he went past. As the two entered the lift and the door shut behind them, Mecha walked over to the middle of the room and activated his engine, flying up and out of the same hole in the skylight he had created over three weeks ago, Eggman never having bothered to fix it as of yet.

* * *

Sonic tapped his foot as he looked at his wristwatch for the fourth time in under two minutes.

"You said he'd be here an hour past when he gave you the signal, right?" asked Sonic, looking over at Sally who was leaning up against one of the giant trees that lined the forest.

"Master Sonic, it's still two minutes till the allotted hour," said Comet, a violet chao with two jester-like dreadlocks coming off her head, a patch of red tipped golden feathers for her bangs, and wings that were made of the same feathers as her bangs only their wingspan was easily as long she was tall if not longer.

"You know he hates waiting," said Sally.

"I know, but still he should show more patience," said Comet, looking down at Sally from a branch of the tree Sally was leaning against.

"I still want to know why you won't tell me anything about this guy, Sal. I mean, if there's someone out there that can actually take out all of Eggman's bases on this continent inside of two weeks other than myself, I'd like to know who he is," said Sonic.

"If you knew who it was, you'd never have agreed to come out here," said Sally. "Just promise me you won't go off the deep end once he shows himself.

"You think I'd get mad over someone ridding us of Eggman and getting us all the robians back?" asked Sonic, his curiosity sparked even more.

"Just remember, Angel sees him as a friend. I want you to respect that and treat him as such for the time being," said Sally.

"Fine. You don't have to worry about me, Sal. I'll be as cool as a cucumber," said Sonic.

"Princess Sally. I think I see something in the distance," said Comet.

"What is it?" asked Sally, looking out over the meadows that covered the area between the Great Forest and Robotropolis.

"Looks like people," said Comet, squinting as she tried to see better. Her eyes then grew wide as she realized just what she was seeing. "It's a lot of people!"

"The robians…" said Sonic, not really believing what he was seeing as the first of the hundreds of robians started to come into view. Each one of them moved at a normal walking pace, all headed towards the Great Forest, now only about a couple of minutes away from reaching the foursome. "Well paint me peach and call me a human, the guy actually came through for us." As soon as the first few robians came within ten yards of Sonic and the others, they stopped in their tracks, waiting for their next order to be given. Sonic glanced back at his wristwatch, which now indicated it had been one hour since Nicole had been given the signal. As if on cue, a low humming noise began to make itself be known.

"Do you hear that?" asked Comet, looking around for the source of the noise.

"Yeah. And I don't like it at all," said Sonic, instantly recognizing the noise. "Sal, grab Comet and get ready to book it!"

"No. We're staying right here," said Sally. Sonic's panic turned to stunned astonishment.

"Have you lost your mind? Mecha's right on top of us! We need to get out of here now!" cried Sonic.

"And I said we're staying," said Sally sternly.

"What has gotten into you!? You _want_ to wait for Mecha to catch us and whoever our contact is?" asked Sonic.

"Sonic!" yelled Sally, startling Sonic. "Mecha _is_ our contact." Sonic felt the blood rush out of his head as the words that Sally had just said to him sank in.

"No no no…You can't be serious!" cried Sonic. As soon as the words left his mouth, Metal Sonic landed just in front of the robians, his engine cutting out.

"Greetings, Princess Sally," said Mecha. He then looked over at Sonic who was staring back at him with a glare that could kill. "Hedgehog…"

"What kind of trick are you pulling Mecha? I don't believe for a second that you did anything to Eggman's bases. I'll bet you led the robians out here to lead them on a march through the Great Forest till you find Knothole, right?" yelled Sonic.

"Sonic! Shut up!" yelled Sally, causing the cerulean hedgehog to look back at her with a disbelieving look.

"Sal, you honestly think this isn't a trap?" asked Sonic.

"I said shut it, Sonic Hedgehog," said Sally. Sonic just closed his eyes and threw his hands up in response. "Thank you."

"Is the chao called Comet here?" asked Metal Sonic. Comet looked over the edge of the branch she was seated on, recalling and fearing all too well the face of the person who had murdered most of Angel's village, including her parents.

"Yes, she is," said Sally. She then looked up at where Comet was watching. "Comet. Mecha has a message for you from Angel." Comet gulped slightly before flying out of the tree and landing next to Sally.

"What did my mistress ask you to tell me?" she asked nervously.

"She said to tell you that 'the peacebloom blossoms in the north'," said Metal Sonic. Comet's fearful demeanor faded away rapidly at hearing the statement that Metal Sonic had said. Slowly, she turned around to face Sonic, who looked back down at her.

"Well, what does that mean?" asked Sonic.

"It means…Angel trusts him as a friend," said Comet, not quite sure if she did believe it herself.

"But I know Angel would never befriend Mecha in a million years!" cried Sonic.

"I agree that I am having a hard time believing it myself, Master Sonic, but that phrase was our way of letting each other know that the person we were interacting with was a friend," said Comet.

"But how is that possible? Angel would sooner trash him than even talk to him," said Sonic.

"If you must know, she unknowingly promised to protect both me and mecha bot six from Robo Knuckles. By doing so, she was forced by her honor to travel with the two of us. She then risked her life to allow the two of us to get to safety after Robo Knuckles found us. I saved her life from Robo Knuckles twice during the fight. After that, she got me into contact with the princess, and asked me as a friend to not cause a problem should you be here at the meeting spot. I agreed," said Metal Sonic.

"Okay…As much as I hate to say it, I believe you. Only Angel would've followed you around after making such a promise. And the fact that you're not trying to take my head off supports your claim that your promised her that you wouldn't do that," said Sonic. "Still don't believe for a second that you took out all of Eggman's bases though." As if on cue, a loud explosion sounded from way off in the distance in the direction of Robotropolis, causing all the organic people present to instinctually duck and cover their ears from the noise.

"You were saying?" asked Metal Sonic, watching with amusement as Sonic and the others recovered from the blast.

"What was that?" asked Sonic.

"That, hedgehog, was the sound of the Command Center of Robotropolis self-destructing. With it gone, all the factories are shut down, and all the Swatbots were inside the building at the time of the explosion, thereby eliminating them as a threat as well," said Metal Sonic, crossing his arms over his chest proudly.

"Alright. I believe you about the bases," said Sonic, annoyed at the fact that he had to admit Metal Sonic did something positive for the second time. "I have just one question I want to ask you Mecha."

"And that would be what?" asked Metal Sonic.

"Why did you do it?" asked Sonic.

"Let's just say I had my reasons," he answered. He then held out his left palm and a small slot opened, expelling a small disc. He pulled the disc free of the slot and offered it to Sally. "I have one last thing to offer that wasn't in our original deal."

"What is this?" asked Sally as she took the disc.

"That, princess, is the key to freeing your people from Eggman's control," said Metal Sonic.

"You found a way to de-roboticize them!?" asked Sally.

"No. That is something even I haven't figured out. I did, however, figure out how to free their minds of the Roboticizer's influence. While under its influence, as I'm sure you're aware by now, they don't recall anything about their former lives. I had planned on using this to try and learn where Knothole was at for Eggman, but that never came around. Now that I want nothing to do with him, I figured better to leave it with you," said Metal Sonic. Sally immediately took Nicole off her boot and flipped her open.

"Nicole. Scan this disc and tell me if it is able to free a robian's mind of the Roboticizer's influence," said Sally, inserting the disc into Nicole. The small supercomputer began beeping rapidly as it read the disc. After about ten seconds, the beeping stopped.

_"With the data on this disc, it is theoretically possible to purge the Roboticizer's influence from the AI matrix of a robian. However, our only computer with the ability to upload the data to a robian is myself. By my calculations, it will take approximately four hours to purge the influence from a single robian,_" said Nicole. Sally's eyes started tearing up after hearing what Nicole had said. She then walked up to Metal Sonic and embraced him in a hug, stunning both Sonic and Metal Sonic at the same time. Breaking the hug, she looked Metal Sonic in the eyes, tears running down her face unchecked.

"You have no idea what this means to all of us. We've tried for years to break the Roboticizer's hold on people. And now you've given us the means to do it. I can't thank you enough," said Sally.

"And now I've seen it all," said Sonic, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"You are welcome, princess," said Metal Sonic. He then turned and walked back towards the crowd of robians. As he reached them, he looked back over his shoulder at Sonic. "Just so you know, hedgehog, this doesn't change a thing between the two of us. One of these days, I will challenge you again, and when that time comes, I will kill you." At this, Sonic only smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Should've known you wouldn't let that go. You know you can try all you want, Mecha, but I'll stop you like I always do," said Sonic. Metal Sonic turned away from the group of three, his engine firing as he took off into the sky. As he flew from view, Sonic turned towards Sally. "Okay. That was definitely awkward."

"I can't argue with that," said Sally. She then looked out at the giant crowd of robians that now stood at attention, waiting to be given an order. "Now the question is what are we going to do with all the robians. Knothole has nowhere near the space to house them all."

"Well, if what Mecha said about the Swatbots is true, and if Eggman has truly abandoned the city, I guess we let them stay in the factories till we can build them places to live."

"The amount of housing we'd have to build would take use months to do even if everyone in Knothole pitched in," said Sally.

"True…" said Sonic, closing his eyes and lowering his head in thought. He then looked up a few seconds later. "I guess we could put the robians to work helping us to build the houses."

"I don't know. It feels like doing that would make us no better than Eggman, taking advantage of them like that," said Sally.

"What if you give them breaks, only do it during daylight hours, and in the mean time we'll have Nicole work on freeing their minds while we do that. That way the people whose minds get freed will have somewhere to go right away," suggested Comet.

"I guess that would work. Still, I want to be sure that the factories are safe before we send them back there," said Sally.

"No problem, Sal. I can check out the whole city in about ten minutes, see if everything's truly abandoned," said Sonic. With that, he took off like a shot in the direction of Robotropolis. Nearly ten minutes later, Sally spotted him coming over the hill of the meadow that the robians had come over, racing up next to as he came to a stop. "Mecha wasn't lying. The place is deserted." Sally nodded, then turned to face the crowd of robians.

"Robians!" she shouted, causing them all to look over at her. "Return to the factories you were guarding! Tomorrow morning, Freedom Fighters will arrive and give you new orders then!"

"Acknowledged," said all of the robians at once before they turned around and started the trek back to the industrial city.

"Okay. That right there was creepy," said Sonic, shuddering at the response the robians had given.

"Yes, but at least we can free their minds now," said Sally. "Let's go back home and tell everyone that our kingdom is finally free of Eggman's grasp."

"That will be the best news they've heard since this war began. But do you really think they'll believe that Mecha was behind it all?" asked Sonic.

"We'll tell them the truth. Whether they choose to believe it is their own deal," said Sally.

"If I hadn't been here, you would've never convinced me," said Sonic as the threesome started their trek back to Knothole.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Two days later found Angel and Mira traveling together in a jungle far away removed from any of the human or mobian settlements that dotted the southern continent. Angel's leg still bore the bandages of her nearly healed burn injury caused by Robo Knuckles' blaster. Angel had convinced Metal Sonic to allow Mira to stay with her, saying that she knew a place where the female mecha bot would be safe from Eggman's fury. After Metal Sonic had departed, Mira had insistent that they stay in the town they had started off in till Angel's leg had fully healed, but the stubborn echidna refused to delay their journey any longer than was necessary. Already the pair had been in the jungle for the last four days, following a fairly big river that had led into the vast vegetation. As the sun began to set and what little sky they could see through the treetops turned orange in color, the duo chose to stop for the night. Tonight was no different than any of the past three nights. They had found a small clearing and were sitting by a small campfire, Angel cooking a couple of fish Mira had been kind enough to get out of the river.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Mira as she stared into the flames, her eyes glancing over at the echidna. "I mean, we've been following this river for more than half a week and haven't seen another intelligent life form since we entered this jungle."

"I know it doesn't seem like I know where I'm going by this point. Problem is that the village we're looking for is pretty much in the dead center of the jungle, but I know for a fact that this river runs fairly close to where the village is located," said Angel, her own gaze staring deep into the fire, as if not really paying attention to Mira. Truth was she had been distracted with conflicting thoughts for most of the day. By her guess they were only two miles away from their destination, the river having forked in two directions at their current location, signaling to her that it was time to leave the river and go inland. But the closer they had come to the village, the more conflicted her thoughts had become. The chief of which was whether or not she should have even sought out her old home in this timeline.

"Still don't know why this place would be so far removed from the outside world," said Mira.

"They have their reasons," said Angel.

"How do you even know about this village if they are so secretive?" asked Mira. Here, Angel paused, not sure if she wanted to tell her how she knew about it.

"Let's just say I've been there before. And call me Aysa when we get there," said Angel.

"Why call you that?" asked Mira, now curious as to why Angel would make such a request.

"Using my real name might cause…a problem," said Angel. Mira hated how vague Angel was being with the details, but she also knew she wasn't going to press her for more. If Angel wasn't telling her something, she must have a good reason not to. As the two sat there watching the fire, Angel suddenly felt an all too familiar feeling about a minute later. Last time she had felt it was when the Cody of her world had come to her on Floating Island. Grabbing her scabbard that was sitting on the ground next to her, she stood up and gripped the hilt of the blade resting inside of it.

"What's wrong?" asked Mira. Angel's face had twisted into a scowl, her eyes narrowing as she looked slowly back and forth over the clearing, then looked up into the trees.

"Come out. I know you're up there," said Angel, continuing to look up at the tree line. Mira looked up as well, using her scanners to try and detect anything out of the ordinary. However, all the plant life was messing with her bio scanners, so she couldn't see anything past the leaves of the trees.

"I must say I'm impressed," said a female voice from somewhere in the trees in front of the two girls. "Takes even the best predator longer than that to discover my presence."

"We're not here to cause a problem," said Angel, still keeping her grip on her sword. She then turned to her left, keeping her eyes focused on something that Mira couldn't see.

"Yet you take hold of your weapon, as if preparing to strike when I get near you," said the voice, only this time it was coming from the direction that Angel had turned to face.

"Fair point. I'm not used to trusting someone who likes to watch me while trying to stay hidden," said Angel.

"As you said, fair point," said the voice. "Very well. Put down your weapon, and I'll come down." Angel hesitated for a couple of seconds, then dropped her scabbard to the ground, letting her arms fall back to her sides. The branches of one of the trees in front of the two girls were suddenly parted by a pair of hands, revealing an orange furred echidna standing on another one of the tree's bigger branches. She appeared to Angel to be around sixteen years of age. She wore a rich purple tube-top with a matching pair of shorts, her feet adorned with a pair yellow shoes. Strapped to her back was a quiver filled with wooden arrows, a longbow in her right hand. Her six dreadlocks were cut shorter than Angel's nine were, only coming down to about four inches below the base of her neck, each one sporting a small golden band in the middle of each dreadlock. The final features Angel took note of were the young girl's bright green hair that was cut fairly short and her light blue eyes. The echidna then jumped down out of the tree and landed a few yards in front of the duo, standing up to her full height. It took Angel all her willpower not to call out who it was that was now standing before her, for she recognized the echidna girl even though she was five years older than she remembered her.

"Out on a hunting trip?" asked Angel, glancing down at the bow in the other echidna's hand.

"Yes, though I didn't expect to run into strangers out here," said the echidna. "I'd still like to know how you knew I was there. My dad is the only one that can ever find me when I'm trying to hide from others."

"I'd like to know that too," said Mira.

"You'd be surprised what can give away a person's presence," said Angel with a smile. "You made a small noise when you shuffled around in the tree you started off in. I've trained long enough to hear a noise even that small that's out of the ordinary."

"Well, I'd like to meet this person you trained with someday. Sounds like he could teach me a thing or two," said the orange echidna. At this, Angel's smile faded.

"Trust me, you'd rather not meet him," said Angel. "He was a bad person, to say the least."

"Really? Well, I'll take your word for it. Besides, my dad probably wouldn't approve of me training with someone he doesn't know," said the echidna. "So what even brings you out this far into the jungle? Not often we have people traveling through these parts."

"Well, truth be told we were heading for your village," said Angel. At this, the other echidna's face turned suspicious. "What's wrong?"

"No one seeks out my village. It's been hidden from the world for the past five thousand years. We get the occasional explorer wandering into our village every few years or so, but they've all stumbled across it by accident, not known about it beforehand," said the echidna.

"My parents lived there before they left twenty years ago to start a life away from the village," said Angel, trying to make an excuse as to how she had known about it.

"Oh. Well, I've heard of couples doing that in the past. Don't know why they'd choose to send their daughter back here if they had left, but then again, I never could understand why they'd leave in the first place," said the girl.

"I'm actually going there to meet a family that my parents knew. They said it would be a good experience for me to see others of my kind," said Angel, hoping that the girl would buy her story. Mira wasn't helping either by the curious look she was giving Angel as if to ask what it was she was talking about.

"Well, if you want, I can take you the rest of the way there," said the girl. She then pointed towards the east. "The village is only about two miles that way."

"Well, we were going to rest here for the night, but I guess we can leave now," said Angel. She looked back at Mira. "Is that okay with you?" Mira looked surprised to be asked that question.

"Me? You're the one that's been leading us there. It's your call," said Mira. Angel nodded, then turned back to the girl.

"Alright. Lead the way, we'll follow," said Angel. The echidna girl gave a smile and a nod, then turned towards the east and started walking out of the clearing. Angel reached down and picked up her scabbard, strapping it to her back as Mira picked up Angel's backpack that was sitting on the ground next to her. A quick dump of a cantina of water on the fire doused the flames of their campfire before Mira put the trinket back into the pack and started off after the other two girls.

"By the way, my name's Kirrand," said the echidna girl, turning to look back at the two other girls. "What are your names?"

"I'm Mira," said Mira, giving her a smile.

"You can call me Aysa," said Angel.

"Aysa huh?" said the girl, looking at Angel for a few more seconds, then turning to face forwards again. "Funny. You remind me of my best friend. In fact, if you were five years younger, I'd say you were her." Angel tried not to show any facial expressions in case she turned back around. She knew why she reminded Kirrand of her best friend, for she had actually been best friends with her timeline's Kirrand before Metal Sonic and Leviathan had laid waste to her home. "So which family are you coming to visit?" At this, Angel suddenly realized she didn't have an answer for that question already thought up and blurted out the true reason she had decided to return home.

"The Starfire family," she said, wincing slightly as she realized she had said that. At this, Kirrand's head lowered. She stopped and then turned around, her face looking solemn.

"Well…I hate to be the one to break it to you, but…they aren't with us anymore," said Kirrand. At this, Angel snapped to attention, though she somehow managed to not let it manifest visually. A thousand questions suddenly popped into her head, most of which she knew she couldn't ask without revealing who she really was.

"What do you mean?" was all Angel could think to ask.

"Five years ago, a disease spread through our village, causing all of the pure-blooded descendants of the Nocturnus tribe to become deathly ill. While there were only a few families that were still pure-blooded, none of their number survived. Sadly, the Starfire family was one of those families," said Kirrand. Angel fought back tears she could feel beginning to form in her eyes, desperate to not let on that this news had upset her more than someone who didn't know them would have been. Mira, however, realized what was going on the moment Angel had said her last name as the family she was visiting. She wanted to say something, to comfort Angel in some way, but she knew she couldn't, lest she give away the very thing Angel was trying to hide from Kirrand.

"I'm…sorry to hear that," said Angel softly, looking away from Kirrand.

"It's something I've come to terms with over time. I lost my best friend that year…" said Kirrand, her face turning crestfallen. Angel finally looked back up at Kirrand, having finally fought down her grief.

"I know how hard it is to lose people you care about," said Angel.

"Do you still wish to come to my village, knowing that the people you came to see are gone?" asked Kirrand. Angel hesitated for a second, realizing that even if she did go, she would never see her parents again. But, she also knew that going to her old home would be the best way to see if she could figure out the answer to the one question that had been on her mind ever since she had left Knothole. What was her place in this world?

"Yes. I'd still like to go," said Angel.

"Okay. Let's go," said Kirrand, turning back around to begin leading the trio through the jungle. The three girls walked quietly, none of them saying anything till they came to the edge of a large clearing. Angel could tell that this clearing wasn't natural. Several of the outlying trees had clearly been cut down by a blade. The other major clue came from all of the huts that dotted the clearing, which was about a good mile in diameter.

"Well, here we are," said Kirrand, pushing the last bit of foliage out of her way as she walked into the clearing. Angel paused, almost scared to venture into her old home. Mira could sense that something was bothering her, placing a hand on the pink echidna's shoulder only to cause her to jump at the sudden touch.

"You going to be okay?" asked Mira. Angel closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. At this point, she wasn't sure she even wanted to be there anymore. But she knew she had to do it.

"I'll be okay," was all she said to the female mecha bot.

"Well, come on, don't be shy," said Kirrand, motioning for the two girls to follow her. They both gave a sheepish grin before stepping out into the clearing. "I think we should go see Elder Tarrik first. He's usually good at showing outsiders around the village."

"Okay," said Angel, following Kirrand who started walking into the assortment of huts not unlike the ones Angel remembered seeing in Knothole. Angel glanced around nervously as all the echidnas that were out on the pathways gave her and Mira stares, some whispering amongst themselves. Mira also noticed the curious mobians, shying away from their stares as best she could. After a few minutes, the trio came upon a hut that was much larger than the others, with ornamental decorations littering the outside of the hut.

"Elder Tarrik? Are you in here?" asked Kirrand as she walked into the hut. Angel and Mira followed her inside. Despite the ornate decorations on the outside of the hut, the inside was very modest. Only a few chairs sat beside a table that had an old teapot and a few small cups set on top of it, a small bed situated on the far left side, a rather large bookcase with dozens of books in it, and a large fur rug situated in the middle of the hut. Sitting on the rug was an elderly, red furred echidna who was reading one of the many books from the bookcase. Angel thought he looked like a much older version of Knuckles, minus the white crescent mark that showed that Knuckles was of the linage of the guardians of Floating Island.

"Yes, my child, I am here," said the echidna, not looking up from his book. He then calmly grabbed a bookmarker that was sitting beside him, placing it in the book and carefully closing it. Seeing that Kirrand was not alone, the elderly echidna gave a warm smile. "Ah, it has been several years since we've had outsiders find our village. Welcome."

"Thank you, honorable elder," said Angel, giving him a small bow. Mira copied the gesture, hoping Angel was greeting the echidna properly.

"Respect for one's elders," said the echidna, slowly standing up. "It is something we echidnas value dearly. Good to see that someone like you hasn't forgotten the ways of our village after all this time," said Tarrik as he finally got to his feet. Kirrand gave a confused look, while at the same time Angel's face turned nervous. A smile worked its way across Tarrik's face as he looked the two girls over for a couple of seconds. "May I ask you for your names, so that I may properly introduce myself to you?"

"My name is Mira," said Mira, giving another small bow, hoping that she was being polite by doing so.

"And I'm Aysa," said Angel. Here, Tarrik's smile widened, making Angel's nervousness grow even more.

"Aysa, is it?" said Tarrik. He then shook his head slowly, his smile still plastered on his face. "My dear girl, you may have fooled Kirrand, but you cannot fool me as easily."

"What do you mean, 'fooled'," asked Kirrand. Tarrik looked over at Kirrand, his smile never wavering.

"This young echidna is not called Aysa," said Tarrik. He then looked back over at Angel. "No…rather, she is someone who shouldn't be here at all."

"What do you mean?" asked Kirrand, confusion evident on her face. At this, Angel realized that Tarrik knew the truth. And he was fully prepared to disclose this information to Kirrand. She braced for what Tarrik said next.

"She, my dear Kirrand, is named Angel," said Tarrik. Kirrand's eyes widened, her gaze shifting to look at Angel, who returned the gaze. Kirrand looked like she was a deer in headlights, but Angel shifted her gaze back to Tarrik.

"How did you know?" asked Angel. Tarrik kept smiling as he placed a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"I could sense that it was you, my dear," said Tarrik. He then turned around, reaching down to pick up his book before starting to walk towards the bookcase. Angel stared blankly at him, the shook her head as she broke out of her stare.

"What do you mean by 'sense' me?" asked Angel. As Tarrik placed the book back into its slot on the bookcase, he turned towards her.

"There are a few people in this world that can…sense chaos auras," said Tarrik. He then walked over to his rug and sat back down before looking up at the trio standing before him. "Usually it takes something very powerful to be able to sense this aura, but there are very few, usually very old individuals that can read it in people. Everyone has a distinct chaos aura that never changes over the course of their lives. I recognized yours the instant I saw you. I haven't felt it in five years, but you have the aura of Angel Starfire without a doubt."

"I think I know what you mean about chaos auras," said Angel, remembering that she could sense the power of the Master Emerald's presence after being around it for so many years.

"Wait wait wait!" cried Kirrand, finally breaking from her stupor and catching the group's attention. "You expect me to believe that this person is my best friend? She _died_ five years ago! I refuse to believe it."

"He's not lying," said Angel, looking over at the orange echidna.

"Prove to me that you're her," said Kirrand, pressing her left index finger into Angel's chest.

"I can think of something, but I don't know if you want me to tell this with our elder present," said Angel.

"Go ahead. I doubt you can say anything that'll convince me you're my dead best friend," said Kirrand. Angel gave a smirk.

"Fine. Just remember, you asked me to tell this," said Angel. Kirrand folded her arms over her chest.

"I'll try and remember that," said Kirrand.

"Okay. Remember when I was four years old, and I was still wetting the bed every once in a while?" asked Angel. Kirrand nodded, remembering all too well this story. But it was also something that a fair number of the kids in the village had known. "You told me to ignore the other kids that made fun of me for that, then you told me in private that it wasn't something to be ashamed of cause you did it till you were five." At hearing this, Kirrand's mouth dropped open.

"How did you know I told Angel that!? I never told anyone I wet the bed at that age other than her!?" Kirrand dropped to her knees, staring off into space. After a few seconds, she looked up at Angel. "It really is you…but…how…?"

"A question that must be answered, if she is willing to tell us her tale," said Tarrik. He then looked over at Mira. "And you…you have a powerful aura about you. Much greater than any living person I've come into contact with. If I were a betting echidna, I'd say you weren't a real person." Mira glanced over at Angel, who just shook her head yes. Mira sighed, then bowed her head down.

"You are correct elder. I am an android that is being powered by a shard of the Master Emerald," said Mira. Here, Tarrik's friendly gaze turned to a frown.

"The Master Emerald…interesting, to say the least, that you are using it as a power source," said Tarrik. "The guardian hasn't been doing his job right if he let a shard fall into someone else's hands."

"With all due respect, Elder Tarrik, Knuckles has done a fine job of guarding the Master Emerald," said Angel. Tarrik and Kirrand both looked over at Angel. "It is true that the Master Emerald was stolen by someone called Dr. Eggman, but Knuckles went to great lengths to get it back from him, making some new friends in the process. He did have a falling out with those same friends, but he hasn't wavered from his vigil during that time."

"So…Floating Island is no longer a secret anymore," said Tarrik, looking down at the ground. "Still, you are right. If Knuckles managed to right the wrongs dealt to him by this new threat, then I should give him some due credit." He then looked back over at Mira. "And you seem to be a nice enough person. I won't hold it against you that you are using our most sacred artifact to power yourself. I doubt you had a choice in the matter."

"Thank you," said Mira, not sure if he was being nice or just saying that.

"Now then, there is still the matter of you, Angel," said Tarrik. "I can tell just by looking at you that you bear the marks of a warrior's life. And that a dark past is haunting you. That much I can tell just by looking into your eyes." He then motioned for the trio to sit down. The three obliged, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the hut. "Start from the beginning, and leave out no details. I wish to know how it is that you stand before us now." Angel closed her eyes, then gave a big sigh. Opening them again, she gave a nod.

"Very well. I owe at least that much to my best friend and the elder of my village," said Angel. "First off, I come from a different timeline. One where I was the last surviving member of our species…"

The story Angel told took nearly an hour to tell, but she left out no details. She told of how the village had been destroyed, how she had survived the encounter with Metal Sonic. She told of how she had wandered the southern continent for over a year before meeting Leviathan. How she had taken his offer to mold her into a warrior, and then be released back to Floating Island to be its guardian after her training was complete.

She told of her first meeting with Sonic, and how she joined the fight against Eggman to collect the Time Stones, only to find out that Leviathan was the one truly running the show. She spoke of her enslavement by Leviathan, and how she broke free of his control. Of how she traveled to the past to stop Leviathan from ever causing any damage, and standing up to him alone and succeeding in killing him. She then told them of her recent travels and how she met Mira and saved her and Metal Sonic from Robo Knuckles.

"And that's when we ran into you Kirrand," said Angel, looking over at the orange furred echidna.

"My my..."said Tarrik, shaking his head. "You have been through a great deal for someone so young. Very few could have endured everything you have over the last ten years of your life."

"I doubt I could've handled it that well, losing everything in one night," said Kirrand.

"I wouldn't have gotten through that time if Comet wasn't still with me," said Angel, her thoughts trailing off as she thought of her faithful chao now staying back in Knothole. She then looked down at the ground as she realized something she hadn't thought about till now. "I'm assuming she's gone here, isn't she?"

"Yes…" said Kirrand, looking down at the ground. "Chao that are bonded with someone share their lives with that person. When that person dies, the chao dies with them."

"I knew about that…" said Angel, tears in her eyes. "I just...She didn't even have a choice…"

"She wouldn't have wanted to live without you anyways, my child," said Tarrik. "She never left your side when you were sick. Even to your dying breath she stayed till she too passed away with you."

"But it is good to know that your Comet is still alive and well, even after what she did to save your life," said Kirrand.

"Yes. I thought about bringing her with me, but I knew this was something I needed to do alone," said Angel, smiling as she wiped her eyes. "She'll be safe with my friends in Knothole. That I know for sure."

"Kirrand! Are you in here?" called out a male voice from just outside the hut. All four of the hut's inhabitants turned to look over at the entrance, a violet furred male echidna standing in the doorway. At his feet was a bright green chao with flippers for arms and webbed feet with frills sticking out where its ears would have been.

"Yes dad," said Kirrand. The chao bounded up to Kirrand, leaping into the echidna's waiting arms. "I bet you had him come look for me too, didn't you Luna?" The female chao gave Kirrand a frown.

"And why not?" asked Luna, batting Kirrand on the nose with one of her flippers. "You've been gone for two and a half hours. Doesn't take you anywhere near as long to come back from a hunting trip."

"True," said Kirrand. She then noticed that the aquatic chao's attention had shifted from her to Angel, now staring intently at the pink furred echidna. She then looked over at Angel, catching her gaze, an unspoken question asked. Angel nodded, then stood up.

"It is good to see you again, Mr. Moonglow," said Angel, bowing to the violet echidna, who raised an eyebrow at the greeting.

"Again? I don't think we've ever met," said the echidna.

"Oh, I think you have, Galrok," said Tarrik. He looked over at Luna, who was still staring at Angel. "Luna probably recognizes her. Chao can sense chaos auras as well as I can."

"Do you know her?" asked Galrok, looking down at Luna. Luna broke from her trance, looking back up at Galrok.

"Yes…But I don't believe this can be who I think it is," said Luna.

"Who is it?" asked Galrok.

"Angel Starfire…" said Luna, not really believing she what she was saying, but her ability to sense Angel's aura gave no doubt in her mind that it was Angel standing before them.

"Angel…?" asked Galrok, also not believing the small chao. He looked over Angel again, noting that she did indeed look like the young girl who died five years ago.

"It's true dad," said Kirrand, standing up with Luna in her arms.

"But…how…?" asked the confused violet echidna.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. It's already getting late and I'm sure these two would like to turn in for the night. Am I right?" asked Kirrand, looking over at the other two girls.

"That would be nice," said Angel, giving a small yawn, just now realizing how tired she was from the day's travel. "Would you mind if Mira stayed with you? I'm sure she would like to not sleep on the ground again, wouldn't you?" she asked, looking over at the mecha bot.

"I'd prefer it, if that's okay?" asked Mira, looking over at Galrok.

"She can have my bed," said Kirrand, looking up at her dad.

"Alright. Wouldn't be the first time we've had an outsider stay with us for a night," said Galrok. He looked over at Angel. "What about you?" Angel just shook her head.

"I'll be okay. I can stay in one of the trees at the edge of the village," said Angel.

"You sure?" asked Kirrand.

"Yeah. I need to be alone with my thoughts for a while," said Angel. She then walked past the other two echidnas in the doorway and turned towards the western edge of the village.

"Will she be okay?" asked Kirrand, looking over at Mira, who only shrugged.

"I'm not sure. She's probably upset that her parents in this timeline are gone as well," said Mira. "Still, I think she'll be okay. She's a lot tougher than I ever thought she could've been given everything that's happened to her up to this point."

"Yeah…I just hope this news wasn't the breaking point," said Kirrand. "So…I barely know anything about you. Mind sharing a bit about yourself?" Mira smiled and nodded as the trio started walking out of the hut, turning towards the south as Mira began to tell her new friend about herself.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

As the morning sun began to rise, Angel sat with her back against the trunk of one of the trees that were along the western boarder of the village, sitting on one of the upper branches after having not slept at all the night before. She had tried to sleep a few different times over the course of the night, but her thoughts wouldn't be quiet long enough to allow her the comfort of sleep. Sighing, she shifted her gaze towards the huts littering the ground below. She had come to the realization that even if she wanted to believe she could stay here, her heart told her this wasn't where she belonged. Something she couldn't explain told her that her purpose in this world wouldn't be found here like she had hoped. She continued watching the ground below, seeing a few echidnas wandering the pathways of the village as they went about doing their early morning chores. Spotting a familiar pair walking in her direction, she swung her legs over the edge of the branch and leapt down, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

"I don't know how you could sleep in a tree," said Kirrand, walking up to Angel with Mira by her side.

"I'm used to it," said Angel, stretching her limbs and giving a big yawn, which wasn't missed by Kirrand as the orange echidna took note of the other girl's weary eyes.

"Couldn't sleep, could you?" she asked. Angel smiled lightly and shook her head. "Yeah…You look terrible." Angel's smile grew when she heard this.

"You try sorting out a million thoughts while trying to get some sleep, see how you look in the morning," said Angel. She then looked over at Mira. "How'd you enjoy staying with Kirrand's family?"

"They were very nice. And I managed to convince Kirrand not to give up her bed. I can power down while sitting in a chair just fine," said Mira.

"Yeah. Sort of forgot she was an android when I made that offer," said Kirrand. "Hard to not forget, seeing as how lifelike you look."

"Yeah. I think I made the same mistake last night when I asked if she didn't want to sleep on the ground again," said Angel, remembering her own slip up the night before.

"I knew what you meant," said Mira.

"There you are!" shouted a voice from behind the three girls, one that Angel knew all too well. The girls turned around to come face to face with Knuckles, whose face was set in anger.

"Honorable guardian. To what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you in our village?" asked Kirrand, bowing her head in respect.

"I'm here to get back the shard of the Master Emerald that she has," said Knuckles, pointing at Mira.

"Knuckles," said Angel, greeting the crimson echidna, moving to get between him and Mira. Knuckles anger subsided a little at seeing Angel, remembering her from Knothole.

"I know you. Angel, right? The girl Sonic brought back from that alternate timeline?" asked Knuckles.

"Glad to know you remembered me," said Angel.

"This doesn't concern you. Move and let me relieve this girl of the Master Emerald shard," said Knuckles, taking a step forward. But Angel didn't move, and instead stood her ground.

"Who told you she was here?" asked Angel.

"No one. I was just visiting the village like I do every year around this time, but then I sensed the Master Emerald and followed its aura to right here. I can sense it's coming from her," said Knuckles.

"I'm sorry," said Mira, shrinking away from the glare Knuckles was giving her. "I can't give it back to you." Knuckles previous anger returned at hearing that.

"And why not?" he asked angrily.

"I'll stop functioning if it's removed from its housing," said Mira. Knuckles looked at her quizzically for a couple seconds, and then suddenly put two and two together. He then looked over at Angel.

"You let one of Eggman's machines come here!?" he asked in disbelief.

"She's not one of Eggman's machines. She was built by Metal Sonic," said Angel, suddenly realizing that answer wasn't better than if Mira was one of Eggman's creations.

"That's almost worse," said Knuckles. He then moved around Angel and stepped up right into Mira's face. "If you don't want to be trashed, hand it over." Mira shrank back, fear evident on her face.

"Stop it!" said Angel, trying to defuse the situation before it got worse. Kirrand had taken a few steps back to not get in the way, watching from a safer distance.

"I said, give it back!" said Knuckles, raising a fist back to deliver a punch. Mira gave a shriek of fright, instantly taking to the air to get away from Knuckles. As she flew up to the top of the tree line, she looked back down only to see that Knuckles had jumped up after her and was within range to strike. Without thinking, she thrust her left arm out, hitting Knuckles head on with a powerful blast of wind. The crimson echidna went flying over a hundred yards away from where he had started, landing on top of one of the huts and nearly falling through the roof. By now, dozens of other echidnas had heard the commotion and had come to see what all the fuss was about. Several were pointing up at Mira as she hovered in the air, talking frantically between themselves.

"Cheap shot!" shouted Knuckles as he sat up on the roof. He then stood back up and jumped down to the ground and started running towards where Mira was. However, this time Angel ran up in front of him, throwing her own punch at Knuckles.

"I said, stop it!" she shouted, her fist colliding with Knuckles' face, sending the crimson echidna reeling backwards several feet before he fell to the ground, causing all the gathered echidnas to gasp as they had never seen anyone do that to the guardian of the Master Emerald before.

"Why are you defending her?" asked Knuckles, rubbing his sore face, his anger now focused on Angel.

"She's my friend. And she saved my life. I'll gladly defend her with my honor," said Angel. The other echidnas all started whispering amongst themselves, knowing full well that an echidna's honor wasn't just freely given to someone. Knuckles stared at her in stunned silence, also knowing what that proclamation had meant. If he tried to go after Mira again, Angel would defend her with force.

"So you'd fight me to keep the last missing shard of the Master Emerald away from me?" asked Knuckles as he stood back up.

"I will," said Angel, her face set in stone. "I know how much getting that shard back means to you, but I won't let you kill someone to get it back." By now, Elder Tarrik had come to see what the problem was, seeing the two echidnas locked face to face.

"She's just a machine," said Knuckles, trying to reason with Angel.

"She's self-aware. That makes her as alive as you or me," said Angel.

"Knuckles," called Tarrik, catching the two echidnas' attention. Both looked over to where the elderly echidna was standing. "Let it go, my child." Knuckles gave Tarrik a disbelieving look.

"You know I can't," said Knuckles. "It's my duty to guard the Master Emerald. I failed at that job once before and let Eggman take a piece of it, but I'll be a human's uncle if I don't get those pieces back."

"I know this very well," said Tarrik. He closed his eyes, giving a sigh before walking over and placing a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "But Angel is right. That girl flying above our heads right now might be an android, but she has shown that she has a good heart from both her actions and her personality. It would be wrong to snuff out that heart."

"But…" started Knuckles, but was cut off when Tarrik raised a hand into Knuckles' face.

"I know it's hard to let it go, but it's for the better," said Tarrik. Knuckles closed his eyes tightly for a couple of seconds, then relaxed and gave a small sigh. He then looked over at Angel, giving her a nod. Angel returned the nod before looking back up at where Mira was hovering.

"It's okay. He's not gonna try and hurt you anymore," hollered Angel.

"Are you sure?" asked Mira, still not sure about coming down.

"If he does try, I'll make him stop," called Angel. Mira hovered for a few more seconds, then started a slow decent to the ground. Angel and Knuckles both started walking towards where she was landing, meeting Mira on the ground.

"Sorry I took a swing at you, eh…," said Knuckles, trying to sound sincere.

"Mira. And I'm sorry I sent you flying," said Mira, looking Knuckles over. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" At this, Knuckles just chuckled.

"No. It would take a lot more than just a little fall to hurt me," he said. He then looked her seriously, causing Mira to think he might try and take another swing at her again. "I'll let you know right now that I'm not happy about you having that shard, but Tarrik is right. If you are a good person, it would be wrong to let you die getting it back. But that means I'm trusting you to take care of that shard and let no one else take it from you."

"I promise to take care of it," said Mira.

"I'll hold you to that, Mira" said Knuckles. He then looked over at Angel. "Sorry I got mad at you. I should've gotten all the facts before flying off the deep end." Angel only smiled at him.

"Good thing you backed down. Otherwise you'd have had a tough time getting past me," she said. Knuckles grinned at hearing this.

"I doubt that," said Knuckles. "I'm no slouch in a fight."

"And you know I'm not either," said Angel. "In fact, I'll bet I'm better in a fight than you are."

"Fat chance," said Knuckles.

"Wanna go a few rounds?" asked Angel playfully. Mira's face turned despondent.

"Oh please don't fight you two. Hasn't there already been enough of that for today?" she asked. Knuckles looked at the aquatic android with a disbelieving smirk.

"You definitely aren't like anything I would've expected to come from Mecha's mind," said Knuckles.

"I thought the same thing," said Angel, pausing for a second before changing the subject. "So, how long you down here for?"

"Just for the day," answered Knuckles. "I have to get back to Floating Island to help Mighty move the Master Emerald back to its shrine before tomorrow night."

"Why do that? I never moved it once the whole time I was guarding it in my timeline," said Angel.

"It's time to move the island down south. I tend to move it with the seasons and it's a lot easier to guide it when I can actually see where I'm going," answered Knuckles.

"Funny. I never thought once to do that. I just kept it pretty much in the same spot. I did move it up and down a few times to avoid storms, but that was about it. It's not easy to control all that power," said Angel.

"Yeah. Took me a few years to get used to it too," said Knuckles. A thought then crossed his mind. "Now that I think about it, why are you even here? I thought you'd be staying with Sonic and his friends."

"Well, truth be told I was coming here to get some answers, but really it only raised more questions about what my purpose in this timeline is," said Angel.

"I see," said Knuckles. "You know you're welcome to come live on Floating Island with me and Mighty. Another pair of eyes and hands is never a bad thing."

"I had thought about asking you that when you were in Knothole, but I realized then I wouldn't be content to live there. I know I have a higher purpose in this world than to watch the Master Emerald with you. What it is I can't say, but I know the answer is out there somewhere," said Angel.

"So is she gonna keep traveling with you?" asked Knuckles, pointing a thumb in Mira's direction.

"Actually, about that," said Angel, turning to look at Tarrik who had been patiently listening to the two echidnas. "Elder Tarrik. I wanted to know if Mira could live here with someone."

"Here?" asked Tarrik, a little surprised at the request.

"If people see her use her powers, they might figure out what it is that's powering her and try and take the Master Emerald shard from her. Plus there's the fact that Dr. Eggman will be on the lookout for her. I can't think of anywhere safer she'd be than here," said Angel.

"I agree," said Knuckles, looking over at Tarrik. The elderly echidna closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds.

"Very well. But it might be hard to find a family that would be willing to let her stay with them after seeing what she did to Knuckles," said Tarrik.

"She can stay with us," said a voice behind the trio. The three echidnas' turned around to see Galrok standing behind them, Kirrand and Luna next to him. "She's been our guest once before, and she was good company. I won't turn her away."

"Thank you Galrok," said Tarrik. He then looked back at Mira. "You okay with staying with them from now on?"

"Oh yes," said Mira, clearly happy at the news. "I really like Kirrand and her family. I will get along great with them."

"Then it's decided," said Tarrik.

"Welcome to the family," said Kirrand, running over and giving Mira a hug, which the android happily returned. Kirrand then looked over at Angel, her smile fading. "I take it your leaving then by the way you were talking earlier?"

"I am," said Angel, her face a little sad looking. "I know it seems like I just got here, but I know my place isn't here. It's somewhere out there, and I'm determined to find it."

"I understand," said Kirrand. She then wrapped her arms around Angel, the pink furred echidna returning the hug. "Just promise me you won't die out there. I can't bear losing you twice."

"I promise," said Angel, giving Kirrand a warm smile.

"You gonna leave right now?" asked Kirrand, breaking the hug. Angel shook her head.

"Nah. I'm too tired from a sleepless night to be traveling. I'll leave tomorrow. Besides, I didn't get a chance to hear what all has happened in your life these past five years. I would be a terrible friend to not have you tell me all about that," said Angel.

"Compared to your life, mine's been pretty boring," said Kirrand.

"Humor me then," said Angel as the two started walking off together.

"I hope she finds what she is looking for," said Mira, watching the two best friends leave.

"I do too," said Knuckles, also watching the pair leave.

* * *

That very same day, on the outskirts of an area dubbed Mystic Ruins by the locals due to the massive city ruins that were the final testament to a race long forgotten, Dr. Eggman was pacing back and forth in the command center a massive airship that was being kept within an extremely large and well hidden hanger. The ship was bristling with laser batteries and missile launchers befitting something that the evil doctor would create. At the sound of the main turbo lift opening, Dr. Eggman turned and watched as Snively exited the lift.

"Report," said Eggman.

"Egg Carrier 1 is ready for deployment with the second one being ready in a week. However, the rest of the fleet is still several months from being ready to launch back at our main construction yard," said Snively. The doctor smiled at this news.

"No matter. I think just one of the Egg Carriers will be enough for this task," said Eggman.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, sir? You might not be able to control this creature," said Snively. At hearing this, Eggman turned and glared at Snively.

"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it," he sneered. He then turned his attention to one of the control panels. "Are all systems green for launch right now?"

"Yes sir," said Snively.

"Excellent. This time, I will make no mistakes. And since Sonic won't be around to mess things up, I'll have no problem wiping Emerald City off the map and building New Robotropolis in its place," said Eggman, giving a hearty laugh. He then turned back to Snively. "Prepare to launch."

"Where should I set course for sir," asked Snively.

"Full speed to Floating Island's last known location," said Eggman. He then allowed himself a smile. "It's time we see if this mythical Chaos creature lives up to the power that the ancient echidnas claim it has."


End file.
